When Wall Street banking giants and cryptocurrency CEOs got into a public battle over debanking, the world took notice, and the back-and-forth became confusing.
Jack Mallers, CEO of crypto payment company Strike, dropped a bombshell on social media on November 23, saying that JPMorgan Chase had closed all of his accounts without reason.
“JPMorgan kicked me out of the bank last month (September 2),” Mallers said in a post on X. “It’s weird. […] Every time I ask them why, they say the same thing: “We’re not allowed to tell you.”
The post quickly went viral and drew reactions from high-profile figures including Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, who said: “I think this is for the best.” and billionaire real estate tycoon and equity fund manager Grant Cardone, who called for a boycott in an X post and announced he was moving all assets out of JPMorgan Chase.
Bo Hines, President Donald Trump’s former digital asset adviser and now strategic advisor to Tether, reminded banks on
“Sadly, Operation Chokepoint 2.0 continues,” said Senator Cynthia Lummis. “Policies like JPMorgan’s undermine confidence in traditional banks and push the digital asset industry overseas.”
While it’s not uncommon for banking giants to debank a company and often goes unreported, the incident struck a nerve in the crypto community given Mallers and Strike’s stature in the industry and previous crackdowns by the U.S. government.
“While big banks regularly freeze accounts, it’s hard to ignore the timing of Marlers’ JPMorgan divestment,” said Timothy O’Regan, an emerging markets fund expert and founder of IronWeave.
De-banking letter
Mallers sat on the bank’s cancellation letter from JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) for two months before bringing it to light. In it, the bank notified the founder of Strike, a Bitcoin payments app with about 800,000 monthly active users, that it had closed his account due to related activity.
“We have decided to close your account,” Chase wrote in a letter to Marlers, leading many to believe the closure was related to JPMorgan’s anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) concerns that may have been tied to Strike users.
“During our ongoing monitoring process, we became aware of relevant activity on your account or accounts linked to you. Financial institutions are obligated under the Bank Secrecy Act and other regulations to regularly review our customer relationships,” the letter added.
Seeking more clarity, CoinDesk reached out to both parties for comment and to learn the truth behind the banking divestment.
JPMorgan spokesperson Patricia Wexler declined to comment.
However, a source familiar with JPMorgan told Coindesk, “JPMorgan provides banking services, provides payment services, and serves as a financial advisor to cryptocurrency companies across the industry.”
While the debate raged, Mallers decided to let the matter die down, at least for now. Strike’s press team declined to comment for this story.
“We will not be making any further comment here,” said Alex Modiano, a spokesman for Marlers. Another Strike chief news officer, Randall Woods, echoed the same response
What does this all mean? While both sides have remained silent, a source familiar with the banking giant pointed to confidentiality rules and other issues by way of explanation. They also pointed out that Cato Institute
Timing issue
According to the BSA, all banks are forced to remain silent because FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) guidelines prohibit the disclosure of suspicious activity reports (SARs) to avoid reporting suspects in potential money laundering or other illegal financial investigations.
As for timing, IronWeave’s O’Regan suggested that the sudden closure of Mallers’ accounts could be related to JPMorgan Chase’s recent launch of JPMCoin, a currency similar to Strike.
They both move money very quickly, although one, JPMCoin, is controlled exclusively by banks, while the other, Strike, is open to the wider public.
O’Regan said unblocking a potential future competitor’s banking business just weeks after JPMorgan launched its own token raised questions about potential conflicts of interest. He claimed that major U.S. banks are using the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) as an excuse to quietly debank cryptocurrency executives, without providing any explanation.
He added: “Debanking the CEO of a major Bitcoin finance company could easily be seen as casting a shadow over competitors when it comes to launching quasi-computing products.”
