White House to Fine Banks for Dropping Crypto or Political Clients: WSJ

Highlights:

• White House plans to punish banks for cutting crypto or political customers.
• Regulators may remove unfair rules and report bad actions to top officials.
• Trump pushes to protect crypto firms from unfair banking bans.

The White House is preparing an order that would penalize banks for cutting ties with customers over political views or for discriminating against crypto-related businesses. As reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, the order instructs regulators to look into whether banks have breached laws such as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust rules, or consumer protection regulations. Those found in violation could face fines, consent agreements, or other enforcement actions. 

The draft order directs regulators to scrap any rules that may have caused banks to cut off customers. It also tells the Small Business Administration to examine how banks manage loans guaranteed by the agency. In some cases, regulators will be required to report possible violations to the attorney general.

White House preparing executive order that would punish banks that discriminate against crypto companies…

via @dgtokar @ajsaeedy pic.twitter.com/XQrlUuWsC1

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) August 4, 2025

Crypto industry leaders have long claimed that the Biden administration tried to cut crypto off from the financial system. They say regulators were used to pressure banks into avoiding clients involved in digital assets.

Trump Targets Debanking as Regulators Ease Crypto Restrictions

The draft is part of the Trump administration’s continued push to tackle debanking. This is the practice where banks and financial institutions cut ties with crypto firms or clients, often due to suspected political bias. Rising concerns over debanking have triggered executive moves to protect fair access for crypto businesses. In January, Trump signed an order telling agencies to eliminate regulatory barriers and improve banking access for blockchain companies.

Regulators were once accused of pressuring banks to cut off crypto clients, a practice known as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” In response, they have now begun to reverse those actions. Some agencies have withdrawn informal guidance that discouraged banking for crypto firms. They’ve also relaxed oversight and confirmed that banks can work with crypto businesses if they manage risks properly. Meanwhile, banks have tried to act before federal orders come in. They’ve met with Republican attorneys general and updated their policies to clearly state they don’t discriminate based on political views.

There have been many cases where crypto experts and companies were debanked in recent years. The Trump administration now clearly wants to stop this from happening. Frax Finance founder Sam Kazemian said JPMorgan warned they would close accounts linked to crypto income. Other known figures like Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long, Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss, and Charlie Shrem also faced debanking. In November, Elon Musk shared proof that 30 tech founders were debanked under Biden’s rule.

Did you know that 30 tech founders were secretly debanked? https://t.co/gmnCir43XD

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2024

Banks Don’t Like Crypto but Want Stablecoin Profits

It’s not surprising that banks show a strong dislike toward decentralized digital assets and the companies shaping this growing industry. Banks make money by lending out customer deposits and placing heavy restrictions on how people use their own funds. In contrast, crypto offers peer-to-peer transfers and gives users full control over their finances. Now that banks see major profit potential in stablecoins, they seem to be showing more interest in crypto, but mainly for self-serving reasons.