Industry experts have raised concerns about the tactics allegedly employed by US banks to stifle the growth of major crypto platforms such as Coinbase and Robinhood.
Alex Rampell, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), expressed his concerns in a newsletter on July 31.
US Banks Accused of Leading Operation Chokepoint 3.0
Rampell pointed out that banks, including industry giants like JPMorgan, may be deliberately inflating transaction fees. According to him, these institutions are also limiting banking access to undermine the crypto sector.
He explained that a $10 fee on a $100 transfer into a crypto account could dissuade many users from proceeding.
“If it suddenly costs $10 to move $100 into a Coinbase or Robinhood account, maybe fewer people will do it. Or if it costs $10 to get a cheaper loan from a fintech, maybe you’ll be forced to take a crappier one from JPM,” he stated.
He also pointed out that banks might go as far as preventing consumers from linking their bank accounts to crypto or fintech services. This would force them to remain reliant on traditional financial products.
Rampell likened these actions to the controversial “Operation Chokepoint,” a Biden-era initiative that aimed to restrict crypto companies’ access to banking.
However, this time, he argues, the initiative appears to be driven by the banks themselves.
“JPMorganChase is an $800 billion company. Make no mistake: this isn’t about a new revenue stream. It’s about strangling competition. And if they get away with this, every bank will follow,” Rampell argued.
Notably, Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, previously echoed these concerns and warned that banks are actively working to undermine the crypto industry.
He further revealed that his criticisms led to JPMorgan halting its efforts to rebuild banking relations with Gemini.
Despite these efforts to curb the crypto industry’s growth, platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood continue to expand.
Coinbase plans to introduce tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and derivatives for U.S. customers, signaling its ambition to become a full-fledged financial exchange.
Meanwhile, Robinhood is extending its services to over 200 tokenized stocks and ETFs across 31 European countries. The platform is offering commission-free trading and dividend support to attract users in these regions.
The US regulatory environment also remains favorable for crypto, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently unveiling a range of pro-crypto regulations.
These developments suggest that the industry may still have room to grow, despite the ongoing challenges from traditional financial institutions.
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