The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said some banks had policies limiting services for digital-asset businesses, placing crypto alongside industries such as oil and gas, tobacco and firearms in a report on alleged “debanking.” The findings add to a political and regulatory dispute over whether financial institutions improperly cut off crypto companies from banking access.
What the OCC report found
According to Cointelegraph, the 47-page report was released on Wednesday after an August 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump directed the OCC to examine and help prevent what the administration described as “unlawful debanking.”
The regulator said banks maintained both public and nonpublic restrictions affecting several industries. In the digital-asset sector, those restrictions could involve issuers, exchanges and administrators. The OCC said banks often attributed limits on digital-asset services to concerns about financial crime.
However, the report did not provide specific examples of a crypto company being denied banking services. After reviewing nine major banks, the agency said it was unable to determine the full extent of debanking or alleged debanking on a comprehensive basis.
Why crypto firms are focused on access to banks
Digital-asset companies generally depend on banks for services such as accounts, payments and access to the wider financial system. Losing those services can make it more difficult for an issuer, exchange or other crypto business to operate, even when the bank has not formally prohibited the activity.
The issue gained wider attention in November 2024, when more than 30 technology and crypto executives said they had been denied access to banking services. Some members of the crypto industry began referring to the alleged campaign as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” a reference to an earlier initiative associated with efforts to combat fraud and money laundering through banks.
The claims included allegations that the US government under former President Joe Biden had encouraged or influenced financial institutions to restrict services for crypto companies. The August 2025 executive order followed calls from industry participants for those claims to be investigated.
The report’s broader focus
OCC head Jonathan Gould focused much of his discussion on restrictions connected with coal and firearms rather than presenting detailed crypto cases. Referring to coal-related debanking, Gould said the decisions were not based on financial risk. He said banks instead cited the possibility of negative headlines, public protests and reputational consequences from serving the industry.
The report therefore identifies digital assets as one of several areas affected by banking policies, but it does not quantify how many crypto firms lost access or establish that the restrictions were directed by regulators. Its findings leave the scale of crypto-related debanking unresolved.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data as of October 15, 2026, at about 21:18–21:19 +03:30 show Comedian (BAN) at $0.0531943874, up 0.38% over 24 hours but down 12.97% over seven days. Gas (GAS) was $1.3269953656, up 0.77% in 24 hours and 0.49% over seven days. ONEchain (ONE) stood at $0.1069928106, down 2.41% and 19.22%, respectively. Notcoin (NOT) was $0.0004195415, down 1.9% in 24 hours and 4.14% over seven days.
