Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — Fact or fiction?

“Operation Choke Point 2.0” — the (conspiracy?) theory that the US government coordinated effort to pressure banks to not deal in crypto.

It’s no surprise that 2022 (and now 2023) has been difficult on the crypto space — mostly due to bad actors, corruption and, yes, massive illegality. FTX is, of course, the poster child of what went wrong but, not to be forgotten, Terra/LUNA, Three Arrows, Voyager, Celsius & BlockFi all failured & Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge was hacked.

Regulators around the world have been slow to address the crypto space — most notably the SEC (not to single them out but the SEC does regulate the US capital markets so, naturally, all eyes are on it).

Credible players in the crypto space (especially Bitcoin players but also Defi and other cool legitimate projects) want active engagement with the SEC & other regulators. Why? Because the rules DO need defining to facilitate & enable more institutional and retail adoption.

As a Bitcoin Maximalist, I generally don’t like government involvement of any kind. However, in this particular case, regulation does need to be implemented, confirming that Operation Choke Point was but an unsubstantiated rumour that will then simply fade from collective memory. My hope is that it’s fiction, not fact.