Operation “Choke Point 2.0” is hampering legitimate crypto companies that rely on normal banking rails to function.
The Allegation
Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, Founder and CEO of BCB Group, suggested that the US Administration operating “Choke Point 2.0,” an apparent coordinated effort to sever the connection between the banking and crypto industries, is necessary to heal a $14 billion dollar “ponzi cancer.” The “Choke Point” program aims to reduce tax fraud, protect consumers, and ensure the integrity of banks. However, Landsberg-Sadie contends that operations of regulatory agencies are shutting down legal crypto companies such as Custodia Bank.
The Stated Consequence
Established by Caitlin Long, who was also a speaker at the information-packed panel at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2023 conference named “Crypto Banished From the Banking System,” Custodia Bank has been aggressively lobbying to join the traditional banking system in the United States, but prevented from doing so when it was denied membership to the Federal Reserve in January. Custodia is a three-year-old special purpose depository institution situated in the jurisdiction of the Kansas City Federal Reserve.
The Greater Impact on the Crypto community
This recent crisis dramatically widows numerous crypto companies’ bank affiliations, driving them to desert the US and find offshore banks. Richard Booth, chief Compliance Officer of Fortress Trust Company pointed out that every company in this country deserves access to banking rails, embedding the necessity to put cryptocurrency aside from fraudulent schemes to focus on digital shareholders, and bring regulators up to the speed of the leading legislature.
During another Reuters event regarding Swiss cryptocurrency market regulation CZ, head of Binance, commented in “30 years debate of centralised non-centralized, mankind will eventually migrate to centralized solutions.” Also panelist Federico Sepe, State Secretary, State Secretariat for International Financial Matters SIF, asserted, “Maybe Europe can compete. We’ve got awesome port f—,..”.
[h/t Aoyon Ashraf]