Senator Cynthia Lummis is not exactly in a holiday mood after JPMorgan Chase abruptly shut down the personal bank accounts of Strike CEO Jack Mallers, a move that instantly reignited fears of “crypto debanking” and prompted Lummis to fire off a very Wyoming-flavored warning to the nation’s largest bank: knock it off.
In a statement posted to X, Lummis declared that “Operation Chokepoint 2.0 regrettably lives on,” slamming JPMorgan’s actions as exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes financial pressure campaign that digital asset supporters have been warning about for years.
Her message was blunt:
“Policies like JP Morgan’s undermine confidence in traditional banks and send the digital asset industry overseas. It’s past time we put Operation Chokepoint 2.0 to rest to make America the digital asset capital of the world.”
The firestorm began after Mallers revealed that JPMorgan abruptly terminated his accounts, including his father’s long-standing private client account, claiming only “concerning activity” and refusing to provide details. According to reporting from Decrypt, the move appears to contradict a Trump-era executive order prohibiting banks from cutting ties with customers simply for involvement in cryptocurrency.
Crypto advocates see the closure as yet another sign that traditional banks are still quietly targeting digital asset companies and their executives, despite federal direction to stop the practice. Lummis, who has positioned Wyoming as the nation’s leader in crypto-friendly regulation, made it clear she views the situation as a warning shot.
Why Wyoming Should Care
For Wyoming, where the digital asset ecosystem has become a major point of economic pride, the episode reinforces the state’s long-held stance: if the big banks won’t support crypto innovation, Wyoming will.
And Lummis isn’t letting JPMorgan sneak this one by without scrutiny. With bipartisan interest growing in stopping financial institutions from picking winners and losers in emerging industries, the senator’s comments all but guarantee the issue is heading back to Capitol Hill.
The bottom line:
If JPMorgan thought shutting down a crypto CEO’s account would go unnoticed, Lummis just made sure the opposite is true.
AntlersArch founder and the voice behind Teton Tattle.
