Oversight committee Republicans launch debanking investigation

The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, under the control of Republican lawmakers, wrote to the CEOs of crypto firms and associations announcing an investigation into claims that individuals or entitles had been debanked based on their ties to the digital asset industry.

In a Jan. 24 letter to six crypto industry leaders, Chair James Comer said the oversight committee would explore claims that either financial institutions or representatives of the US government attempted to debank certain individuals.

The investigation — based in part on public statements from Uniswap Labs founder and CEO Hayden Adams, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Kraken founder Jesse Powell, and Lightspark co-founder and CEO David Marcus — will seek information from the Blockchain Association and other industry leaders over the claims.

“The Committee seeks to ensure that entrepreneurs are not unfairly targeted and, by extension, that all Americans are able to participate in US markets without fear of retaliation through illicit measures undertaken by financial institutions or federal regulators,” wrote Representative Comer.

The claim that US government officials, through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or other agencies, were responsible for financial institutions debanking individuals and companies with ties to the crypto industry has been colloquially referred to as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” The name is a reference to an initiative under former US President Barack Obama, “Operation Choke Point,” which focused on banks dealing with payday lenders and other high-risk activities.

Related: Senator Lummis claims FDIC destroyed Operation Chokepoint 2.0 docs

Coinbase helped launch a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FDIC in 2024, requesting the government department provide communication records with financial institutions dealing with crypto-related activities. According to letters made available by the exchange, the FDIC in 2022 requested certain banks “pause” digital asset activities in response to regulatory uncertainty.

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, claimed in November that the debanking efforts targeted “disfavored tech startups.” An a16z representative said on Jan. 24 that the company intended to close its UK offices and focus its efforts on the US market, citing the newly inaugurated Trump administration’s approach to crypto.

TRUMP token and debanking investigations in 2025?

Democratic lawmakers on the oversight committee — the party is in the minority in the House of Representatives — called for an investigation into President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest following the launch of his memecoin on Jan. 17. Ranking member Gerald Connolly said the token could raise “serious national security concerns” over potential foreign financial entanglements.

Republicans’ debanking investigation, which will also explore potentially politically-motivated actions, could be one of the Republican lawmakers’ first policy agendas since the 119th session of the US Congress started on Jan. 3. At the time of publication, no related hearings appeared on the oversight committee’s calendar.

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