Strike CEO faces account closure by JPMorgan, US senators warn that Chokepoint 2.0 may resurface

Jack Mallers, the CEO of blockchain payment startup Strike, revealed to the public on 11/24 that he was abruptly shut out of his personal bank account by JP Morgan (, igniting concerns in the U.S. political arena and the crypto world about the restart of “Chokepoint 2.0.”

Strike CEO's account was closed, JPMorgan: cannot explain the reason.

Mallers revealed on Twitter )X( that JPMorgan directly closed his personal account last month. He asked multiple times for the reason, but the bank only responded:

We cannot tell you.

Interestingly, Mallers even framed the closure notice letter from JPMorgan as a commemoration. Currently, foreign media have reported that they have inquired with JPMorgan but have not yet received a response.

The image shows Jack Mallers' displeased post on X, which also prompted a reply from the CEO of Tether warning U.S. senators that Chokepoint 2.0 is still alive.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis pointed out on Twitter )X( that JPMorgan's actions show that “Operation Chokepoint 2.0” still exists.

She stated that such actions undermine people's trust in the banking system while pushing digital asset operators towards overseas markets, and called for an end to these practices to make the United States a global hub for digital assets.

Custodia founder warns that it will continue at least until 2026

Caitlin Long, the founder of the crypto-friendly bank Custodia Bank in the United States, pointed out in an interview that the de-banking risk faced by the crypto industry may continue all the way to January 2026.

She stated that, as Trump will not be able to appoint a new Fed board member until 2026, the related controversies may continue. Long mentioned that Custodia had previously encountered similar issues, resulting in the company delaying progress by several months and losing millions of dollars.

From bank failures to executive orders, the Chokepoint 2.0 controversy continues to escalate.

Back in early 2023, several crypto-friendly banks in the United States went bankrupt one after another, leading to the first accusations of “Chokepoint 2.0” from outside. At that time, at least 30 founders from the technology and crypto industries were denied banking services, raising questions about regulatory authorities' “politicized account closures.”

The controversy continued into August of this year, when President Trump signed an executive order that explicitly prohibits banks from closing accounts due to political factors or biases against “unpopular industries,” which also includes cryptocurrency operators in the protected scope.

)Wall Street Journal: Trump plans to sign an executive order to stop Chokepoint 2.0, supporting the crypto industry against discrimination from banks(

Regulatory doubts are growing larger, and controversies over government and business operations have resurfaced.

In January of this year, Senator Lummis's office received a report from an anonymous whistleblower, alleging that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation )FDIC( is destroying documents related to Chokepoint 2.0. Lummis emphasized in an open letter that if the allegations are true, it would not only be unacceptable but also potentially illegal, and she warned that if illegal evidence is found, criminal proceedings will be initiated.

The image is a screenshot of Lummis's open letter.

At the same time, statistics also show that despite traditional banks criticizing the crypto industry for involving illegal funds for a long time, large banks in the United States have faced fines exceeding $200 billion over the past 20 years for violating various regulations, with Bank of America accumulating fines of about $82.9 billion and JPMorgan Chase exceeding $40 billion.

This article discusses how the CEO of Strike faced account closure by JPMorgan, and U.S. senators warn that Chokepoint 2.0 could resurface, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.