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President Donald Trump

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Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said a proposal from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller to grant crypto firms access to so-called “skinny” master accounts could curb debanking and bring an end to what the industry has labeled “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Waller <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ES6yRb2AaQ" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">proposed</a> the idea at the Payments Innovation Conference in October, allowing crypto and fintech startups, including payment-only banks, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fed-mulls-payment-accounts-fintechs-small-companies" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">access to accounts at the Federal Reserve</a> similar to the “master accounts” used by banks, but with restrictions. Lummis <a href="https://x.com/SenLummis/status/2004986639332835434" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">said</a>:
<blockquote>
 “Governor Waller's skinny master account framework ends Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and opens the door to real payments innovation. Faster payments, lower costs, better security — this is how we build the future responsibly.”
</blockquote>
<figure>
 <img alt="Federal Reserve, US Government, United States" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b61d1-1a2c-7f9a-abbb-b4c69ceabaa0.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Governor Waller delivers a speech at the Payments Innovation Conference. Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ES6yRb2AaQ" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Federal Reserve</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/operation-chokepoint-crypto-banking-restrictions" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Operation Chokepoint 2.0</a> was described as a coordinated effort to deny banking services to crypto companies and their founders. More than 30 tech founders were debanked under the operation, <a href="https://x.com/BenSwann_/status/1861807763279499466" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">according</a> to venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
The proposal from Waller highlights the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fed-withdraws-crypto-guidance-banks-innovation" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">regulatory shift in the US</a>, with officials and lawmakers now embracing cryptocurrencies and other novel fintech startups as necessary upgrades to the payments system and the future of finance.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fed-seeks-input-on-payment-account-for-crypto-fintechs" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Fed seeks input on account type attractive to crypto firms</a>
<h2 id="operation-chokepoint-2-0-never-ended-crypto-industry-executives-say">Operation Chokepoint 2.0 never ended, crypto industry executives say</h2>
US President Donald Trump signed an executive <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/guaranteeing-fair-banking-for-all-americans/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">order</a> in August <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-sign-eo-financial-institutions-debanking-report" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">prohibiting banks from debanking Americans</a> and businesses without lawful cause.
The order also instructed US banking regulators, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to identify banks and financial institutions that engaged in debanking and potentially slap these institutions with fines or other punitive actions.
However, crypto executives, project founders, and Web3 companies <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-debanking-persists-despite-trump-pro-crypto-push" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">continued to report debanking issues</a> despite the order and the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance.
In November, Jack Mallers, the CEO of Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BTC</a>) payments company Strike, <a href="https://x.com/jackmallers/status/1992743618843672759" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">said</a> he was <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/jpmorgan-debanks-strike-ceo-operation-chokepoint-concerns" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">debanked by financial services company JPMorgan</a> without explanation.
<figure>
 <img alt="Federal Reserve, US Government, United States" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b61d3-ad94-7d00-a47c-9452173c857e.png" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a href="https://x.com/jackmallers/status/1992623545571279219" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Jack Mallers</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
“Every time I asked them why, they said the same thing: ‘We aren’t allowed to tell you,’” Mallers said in a separate X <a href="https://x.com/jackmallers/status/1992623545571279219" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">post</a>.
JPMorgan also <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/jpmorgan-freezes-stablecoin-startup-accounts-sanctions" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">froze the bank accounts</a> of stablecoin startup companies BlindPay and Kontigo in December, citing these companies’ alleged exposure to sanctioned jurisdictions as the reason.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/the-one-thing-these-6-global-crypto-hubs-all-have-in-common/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The one thing these 6 global crypto hubs all have in common…</a>

Fed’s ‘skinny’ accounts end Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — Senator Lummis

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