House GOP: 30 Crypto Firms Debanked in ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0’ — Calls for CLARITY Act
Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee released a final staff report alleging at least 30 digital-asset firms and individuals were debanked in recent years as part of what they call “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” The probe, opened in the 118th Congress, accuses Biden-era regulators — including the Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC — of using vague rules, informal guidance, “pause” letters and enforcement pressure to push banks to cut ties with crypto customers citing AML and volatility concerns. The report cites FDIC pause letters, extra compliance burdens from the OCC and an enforcement-focused SEC posture as drivers that forced some firms offshore. Committee leaders (Chair French Hill and Subcommittee Chair Dan Meuser) frame the conduct as a revival of prior tactics and urge Congress to pass market-structure legislation such as the CLARITY Act to restore legal certainty and explicitly allow banks to serve crypto firms. Key trader takeaways: at least 30 entities reportedly lost banking access; regulatory pressure may persist absent legislation; potential chilling effects on U.S. crypto liquidity and on-ramps could affect trading volumes and fiat flows. Primary keywords: digital asset, de‑banking, CLARITY Act, market structure, SEC. Secondary keywords: banks, FDIC, OCC, enforcement, legislation, crypto regulation.
Bearish
The report alleges systemic regulatory pressure that reduced banking access for crypto firms. Reduced access to U.S. banking and on-ramps tends to lower fiat liquidity into crypto markets, raise operational costs for exchanges and custodians, and increase the risk premium investors demand to hold crypto-related businesses. In the short term, news of continued or recurring de‑banking is likely to prompt volatility and selling pressure in tokens tied to affected venues and U.S.-based crypto services, and to reduce trading volumes as fiat flows tighten. In the medium-to-long term, passage of clarifying legislation (e.g., CLARITY Act) could restore confidence and be neutral-to-bullish; however, absent timely legislative fixes, the likely outcome is continued regulatory uncertainty, migration of firms offshore, and sustained reductions in U.S. liquidity — a bearish backdrop for prices and market depth.