Bank of America is reportedly targeting Coinbase by closing the accounts of parties that transacted with the US crypto exchange while facing the possibility of being the next victim of the US banking crisis.
Rumors of the embargo first surfaced after Stacks founder Muneeb Ali claimed the account he used for Bitcoin investments was reportedly shut down.
Could Bank be Targeting Coinbase?
Ali’s claim prompted Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to find out if more Coinbase users had had their accounts shut down. About one-tenth of the 8,500 Twitter poll respondents answered yes, while another 20% said no.
If true, the alleged account closures may be an extension of Operation Choke Point 2.0. This term was coined by crypto venture capitalist Nic Carter earlier this year.
The term references a deliberate effort by banks and their regulators to deprive legal but politically-polarizing industries like crypto of banking access. It gained popularity after the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued a joint statement warning that banks engaging with crypto would face greater scrutiny.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Coinbase makes things more interesting.
Last month the SEC said Coinbase ran an unregistered brokerage to trade unregistered securities that deprived investors of legal protection. Since the lawsuits, Coinbase’s share of the US crypto trading market has fallen 11%.
Denial of banking services could hurt
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Author: David Thomas
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