The Coinbase team announced on Friday that it got the unredacted Operation ChokePoint 2.0 letters from The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
This comes after an initial court order instructed the FDIC to release the unredacted letters.
Operation Choke Point 1&2
Operation Choke Point 2.0 was a term by Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz during his appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast.
He claimed that the Biden administration used financial exclusion as an overreach in regulatory practices.
The Operation ChokePoint was initially an Obama-era program when financial services were cut to select industries. These industries, like marijuana or gun shops, were deemed controversial or high-risk.
The details from the unredacted letters revealed several interesting facts, including the following:
- Between 2022 and 2023, the FDIC sent out 25 letters.
- The common theme in these letters was a call to indefinitely pause or curtail cryptocurrency activities.
- The restrictions ranged from simply buying and selling Bitcoin and Ethereum products to more complex offerings.
- Banks cannot offer Bitcoin-backed lending or depository services for stablecoins.
- No bank can hold crypto assets and NFTs.
Pro Crypto Lawyer Offers to Lead Probe Into FDIC / Operation Choke Point 2.0
Former United States prosecutor, John Deaton, offered a probe into Operation Choke Point 2.0. He volunteered to investigate it pro bono.
Deaton claims the rot goes beyond digital assets, Consequently, it could signal the FDIC could choose winners/losers by manipulating who has access to critical financial infrastructures.
While Trump’s goal to make the United States the crypto capital of the world is well known, there is no comment from Trump’s camp on the issue.
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