OCC review finds nine largest US banks used debanking policies covering crypto
The OCC reviewed nine large national banks and found restrictive policies touching digital assets, but the 47-page report names no crypto cases and says the scale of debanking cannot be measured.
Why it matters
The review places crypto restrictions on the record alongside firearms, energy and other sectors, but the report supplies no crypto example and the regulator says it cannot size the practice. Banks named in coverage, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo, already face public accusations tied to the crypto industry label Operation Chokepoint 2.0. CryptoSlate also notes that supervisory changes keep anti-money laundering and sanctions duties intact while leaving small-firm eligibility to individual bank risk assessments.
Where the sources disagree
Whether the OCC report documents actual crypto debanking
Banks had policies in place between 2020 and September 2025 that effectively debanked the crypto sector
CoinGape
The report provided no specific examples of debanking tied to digital asset activities
Cointelegraph, Crypto.News, Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
CoinGape reports the review as confirmation that nine large banks debanked crypto, while Cointelegraph, Crypto.News and Crypto News say the report names no specific digital asset cases.
Key facts
The OCC released a 47-page report on debanking covering nine major national banks.
47Reported by Cointelegraph
The OCC said certain banks maintained 'public and nonpublic policies' restricting services for industries including digital assets, oil and gas, tobacco and firearms.
Reported by Cointelegraph
The OCC said 'many institutions also placed restrictions on banking digital asset activities, including on issuers, exchanges, or administrators, often attributed to financial crime considerations.'
Reported by Cointelegraph
The report contained no specific examples of debanking tied to digital asset activities.
Reported by Cointelegraph
The OCC said it had been unable to quantify on a comprehensive basis the full extent of debanking.
Reported by Cointelegraph
The review covered decisions from 2020 through September 2025 and drew on nearly 100,000 complaints and approximately 420,000 pages of documents.
420,000 pagesDisputed figureReported by Bitcoin.com News
The report was issued under an August 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump directed at what he called 'unlawful debanking,' identified as Executive Order 14331.
Disputed figureReported by Cointelegraph
At a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky, Comptroller Jonathan Gould called the findings 'irrefutable evidence' that large banks had 'denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,' and spent most of his remarks on coal and firearms.
Reported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
What happened
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a 47-page debanking report on 14 October 2026 covering nine large national banks, drawing on nearly 100,000 complaints and roughly 420,000 pages of documents that span 2020 through September 2025. The OCC said certain banks maintained 'public and nonpublic policies' restricting services for industries including digital assets, oil and gas, coal, tobacco and firearms, and that 'many institutions also placed restrictions on banking digital asset activities, including on issuers, exchanges, or administrators, often attributed to financial crime considerations.' The agency also said it had been 'unable to quantify on a comprehensive basis the full extent of' debanking, and the report names no specific crypto case. Comptroller Jonathan Gould, speaking at a press conference in Lexington, Kentucky, called the findings 'irrefutable evidence' that large banks had 'denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,' while most of his remarks covered coal and firearms rather than crypto. CoinGape framed the same report as confirmation of crypto debanking under the Biden administration at JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo, citing prior accusations from Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss against JPMorgan. Crypto News reported that documented cases so far involve a media company turned away by PNC, a gun rights group and abortion-rights organizations turned away by Capital One, and JPMorgan refusing a conservative retailer between 2021 and 2023, with no crypto case among them, and CryptoSlate noted that an individual bank's risk assessment still governs access for smaller crypto firms.
How the story developed
- Update
OCC publishes 47-page debanking report on nine national banks
The report lists digital assets among restricted sectors and says the full extent of debanking cannot be quantified.
- First report
First report by Cointelegraph
OCC report finds debanking efforts tied to crypto activities
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
OCC Blows Lid Off Debanking Practices at America’s 9 Bank Giants
- Update
CoinGape reports the review as confirmation of Operation Chokepoint 2.0
Names JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo and cites earlier accusations by Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss against JPMorgan.
- Official statement
Gould holds press conference in Lexington, Kentucky
Congressman Andy Barr and representatives from the state's coal and firearms industries attended.
- Update
CryptoSlate notes BNY's institutional stablecoin service as the function at stake
BNY announced on29 June 2026 stablecoin services holding USDC in BNY custody and instructing Circle through BNY to mint or redeem USDC for dollars.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 14 Oct 2026, 17:03 UTC: Cointelegraph — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 14 Oct 2026, 18:39 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 14 Oct 2026, 20:25 UTC: Crypto.News — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 14 Oct 2026, 20:49 UTC: CoinGape — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
- 15 Oct 2026, 04:47 UTC: Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) — 5 independent sources, 5 reports
- 15 Oct 2026, 08:20 UTC: CryptoSlate — 6 independent sources, 6 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: Federal Reserve, Coinbase, Fidelity, Circle, Ripple, Gemini
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin.com News Company, official | OCC Blows Lid Off Debanking Practices at America’s 9 Bank Giants | Independent | |
| Cointelegraph Crypto media | OCC report finds debanking efforts tied to crypto activities | Original | |
| CryptoSlate Crypto media | 9 mega banks block crypto accounts, but new OCC rules bite back | Independent | |
| Crypto.News Crypto media | Crypto debanking: OCC finds bank restrictions but cannot gauge full scale | Independent | |
| CoinGape Crypto media | Operation Chokepoint: OCC Confirms Crypto Sector Debanking Under Biden Administration | Independent | |
| Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) Aggregator | OCC says big banks debanked crypto as it charters crypto firms | Syndicated |
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