- Biden administration accused of banning cryptocurrencies as part of a 2013 government initiative called “Operation Choke Point 2.0”
- US Federal Reserve continues its efforts in implementing strict regulations on crypto firms based in the US
- GlobalBlock analyst Marcus Sotiriou said a crypto ban in the US will be a “huge mistake” as the country could fall behind on the blockchain tech revolution
It is no secret that the US Federal Reserve has enormous doubts about cryptocurrencies. However, a recent report from Forbes published that American authorities do not just want to regulate crypto; they want to ban it.
According to a report from Forbes senior contributor Billy Bambrough, the Biden administration is banning Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and any existing cryptocurrency traded in the United States. However, the government is doing this in a hush-hush method.
Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, called this move “Operation Choke Point 2.0”, a reference to a government initiative that dates back to 2013 when the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought to shut down unnecessary industry requests approval of banking services.
The Biden administration wants cryptocurrency’s head on a silver platter this time.
Operation Choke Point 2.0’s Goals
Carter explained the following in his article in Pirate Wires:
“In recent weeks, the intensity of efforts to ringfence the entire crypto space and isolate it from the traditional banking system has ratcheted up significantly. Specifically, the Biden administration is now executing what appears to be a coordinated plan that spans multiple agencies to discourage banks from dealing with crypto firms. It applies to traditional banks serving crypto clients and crypto-first firms aiming to get bank charters. It includes the administration, influential members of Congress, the Fed, the FDIC, the OCC, and the DoJ.”
Based on his report, the operation dates back to December 6, 2022, when Sentors John Kennedy, Roger Marshall, and Elizabeth Warren scolded Slivergate. This bank supports crypto), for providing its services to FTX and Alameda Research.
The following day, Signature – a bank well-known for its crypto-friendly services – announced that it would refund the customers’ money before shutting down their accounts. It ultimately left the stablecoin sector.
The restriction of Signature forced Binance to announce a new policy with the partnering bank to only process fiat payments worth at least $100,000 as of February 1.
Overall, banks that initially helped crypto firms have been harassed by regulators since last December mainly because decentralized finance tampers “safety and soundness.”
Meanwhile, market analyst for the digital asset broker GlobalBlock Marcus Sotiriou commented in an email that the US banning crypto would “be a huge mistake” because that would leave the country behind regarding the crypto technology race.
The US government recently asked Congress to heighten regulations on BTC, ETH, and the rest of the crypto market because it fears that a deep partnership between crypto and established financial institutions will aggravate a potential “global financial meltdown.”
