JPMorgan terminates banking relationship with Strike CEO, raising concerns about the de-banking of Crypto Assets again.

Banking giant JPMorgan suddenly closed the bank account of Strike CEO Jack Mallers in September, raising concerns again about banks' “network shutdown” practices against Crypto Assets executives.

“Last month, JPMorgan kicked me out of the bank,” the CEO of the company focused on Bitcoin payments wrote on Twitter last Sunday. “This is so strange. My father worked there for over 30 years as a private client. Every time I ask them why, their answer is always the same: 'We can't tell you.'”

JPMorgan's letter mentioned that “concerning activities” were found during routine monitoring, but did not provide specific details, only stating that the bank “is committed to complying with regulatory requirements and ensuring the safety and integrity of the financial system.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August prohibiting “net cutting” operations against Crypto Assets-related businesses. This move by JPMorgan has raised questions: has the so-called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” aimed at denying banking services to Crypto Assets companies during the Biden era, really come to an end? After this was disclosed by Malus, Bo Hines, who previously served as the chairman of the Trump Digital Assets Advisory Committee and is currently a strategic advisor at Tether, publicly accused JPMorgan Chase: “Hey, JPMorgan… you know 'Operation Chokepoint' is over, right? I'm just confirming.”

Trump had previously acknowledged in June that the phenomenon of “de-banking” still exists, stating: “I can tell you, because of my political stance, I have also been a victim; the big banks have been very harsh on us.”

Eric Trump, the son of President Trump, also revealed in May that “some of the largest banks in the world” canceled the accounts of him and his family at the end of Trump's first term, stating that this prompted them to turn to Crypto Assets.

The letter shared by Males mentions the Bank Secrecy Act and states that the bank “may not be able to open new accounts for you in the future.”

In an interview with Yahoo Finance last year, Malres rebutted JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's criticism of Bitcoin, saying: “Jeffrey Epstein's banker is worried that a distributed, decentralized, open public currency might be used for bad things, and that this currency is being placed in a ski resort in Davos, what do I think about that? I really don't care.” (Decrypt)