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John Deaton Offered to Lead Probe into Crypto Banking Blockade Under Trump
- John Deaton, a pro-crypto lawyer, has offered his services to the incoming Trump administration to combat banks and regulatory bodies restricting access to cryptocurrency.
- The crypto community hopes that the incoming Trump administration will temper anti-crypto sentiment, with Deaton leading the charge against regulatory overreach.
- Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is a supposed initiative by US banks to block transactions to crypto companies and reduce accessibility to blockchain-based services.
- Coinbase sued the FDIC, forcing them to release documents that revealed the issuance of “pause letters” recommending banks halt activities involving cryptocurrencies.
Banks have – begrudgingly – begun accepting that cryptocurrency is here to stay. In the early days of the blockchain, these financial institutions were seen as the big bad enemy. Banks vehemently denied people access to crypto, blocking transactions and proclaiming the sector as scam central.
Despite a supposed softening of this stance in recent times, a conspiracy suggests this is not the case at all.
Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is proposed as an initiative by US banks to block transactions to crypto companies, and otherwise secretly reduce accessibility to blockchain-based services.
But with US President Donald Trump coming into power soon, the crypto community hopes such anti-crypto sentiment will be tempered.
And if not? Batman Lawyer John Deaton is here to help.
Coinbase’s Legal Battle and FDIC’s “Pause Letters”
For the sake of complete transparency, we have to say that Operation Chokepoint 2.0 hasn’t been confirmed…
But, Coinbase has gotten pretty close to proving its existence.
The American crypto giants sued the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), forcing them to release documents outlining certain policies.
And the results were pretty telling.
Essentially, the FDIC issued “pause letters” that recommended banks halt activities involving cryptocurrencies. They also made life difficult for companies such as Binance who needed a new banking partner following Silvergate’s 2022 struggles.
John Deaton Wants to Fight Against Regulatory Overreach
This is where pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton comes into the picture.
He has offered the incoming Trump government his services to combat banks and other regulatory admins in the nation restricting access to crypto.
In a lengthy post to X (formerly Twitter), Deaton commented on the potential damage of Operation Chokepoint 2.0, and how it could set a dangerous precedent.
At their core, Custodia Bank’s fight and ChokePoint 2.0, go beyond digital assets, banking charters or blockchain. It’s about whether unelected bureaucrats can arbitrarily deny access to essential financial infrastructure, effectively picking winners and losers in the marketplace. It’s about whether government agencies can wield unchecked power to restrict lawful businesses from accessing the critical financial infrastructure necessary to survive and thrive in a free market economy.
John Deaton, Lawyer Deaton is a pretty good ally to have – he even said he’d lead an investigation into Operation Chokepoint 2.0 “without salary”.
Can’t say I’d be so magnanimous!
Author
Ben Knight
Ben Knight is a writer and editor from Melbourne with a passion for all things music and finance. He enjoys turning complex topics – especially the technical details of cryptocurrency – into digestible bites that anybody can understand. He acquired his Master’s in Writing, Editing and Publishing from RMIT in 2019 and has run his own creative writing business ever since.
