Jack Mullers said Sunday that JPMorgan closed all of his accounts at the bank in September without any warning or clear reason, only to find a letter “regarding the activity” during routine monitoring.
Jack said every time he tried to get an answer, he ended up with the exact same words: “We’re not allowed to tell you.” He also said his father, who had been a personal customer of the bank for more than 30 years, was also dismissed at the same time.
The bank’s letter cited the Bank Secrecy Act and added that “you may be unable to open new accounts in the future.”
Jacques shared the letter online, saying the situation was indicative of how banks still treat crypto executives and was a reminder of the silent pressures within the financial system and the long debate about whether those in the crypto industry still face targeted shutdowns disguised as compliance actions.
President Donald Trump signed an order in August prohibiting banks from cutting ties with crypto-related activities. The order said banks were already using practices that were excluded, and that some people with conservative views were facing difficulty obtaining basic financial services.
Political voices respond to Jacques Mallards
Beau Hines, who led the Digital Asset Advisory Council during President Trump’s first term and is currently a strategic advisor at Tether, responded to Jack’s post.
Bo said, “Hey, Chase…you know that Operation Chokepoint is over, right? Just checking.” His remarks pointed to a long debate in the crypto community that under former President Joe Biden, regulators were pressuring banks to avoid crypto customers.
Donald Trump also said in June that he was targeted by major banks because of his politics. President Trump said, “As someone who has been a victim of my own politics, I can tell you that the big banks have been very mean to us.”
Eric Trump added in May that “some of the biggest banks in the world” closed his and his family’s accounts near the end of Trump’s first term. Eric said that’s one of the reasons his family became more into cryptocurrencies.
Jack had already criticized JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon during an interview with Yahoo Finance last year. Jack said, “What do you think about Jeffrey Epstein’s bankers sitting in a ski resort in Davos worrying that decentralized, decentralized, open public funds could be used for bad things? I don’t really care.”
Those in the crypto industry use the phrase “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” to describe what happened during the Biden administration, when federal regulators were believed to have pressured banks to fire crypto companies and executives.
The name comes from Operation Chokepoint, an Obama-era Justice Department initiative that encouraged banks to move away from industries deemed “high-risk,” such as gun dealers and payday lenders.
Jason Allegrante, chief legal and compliance officer at Fireblocks, said attempts to take away regular banking from crypto companies will only push the industry to other countries.
“Trying to stop cryptocurrencies won’t make them disappear; they will just thrive elsewhere and leave the United States behind,” Jason said. He also said giving regulators broad powers to decide who has access raises “big questions about who has access to the U.S. financial system” and “undermines the democratic rule of law for everyone.”
JPMorgan said in a Nov. 5 filing that it is “responsive to requests from government authorities and other external parties” regarding its policies and how it services its customers. The filing also states that some issues are being advanced through review, investigation and legal action.
During a debate in Davos, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan asked President Trump how an early executive order would affect the economy. Mr. Trump replied:
“I want conservatives to start opening up their banks, because a lot of conservatives are frustrated that banks aren’t allowing them to operate inside their banks, and that includes a place called Bank of America.”
President Trump then told Brian and Jamie Dimon: “I don’t know if it’s Biden’s fault or what, the regulators mandated it or not, but I hope you and Jamie and all of you open up your banks to conservatives, because what you guys are doing is wrong.”
