Over 30 tech founders have lost access to banking services without warning, according to Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He claims this is part of a government conspiracy called “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.” This comes from a program during the Obama era that cut off financial services to controversial or high-risk industries.
Andreessen believes the Biden administration is using this strategy against political opponents and disliked tech startups, especially in the crypto industry. He states that these startups are now facing similar exclusionary practices, being denied banking services, payment processors, and insurance, which cripples their ability to operate.
Tesla CEO and X founder Elon Musk amplified the issue by quote-tweeting a clip from the podcast. This tweet led to widespread criticism, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong calling it “one of the most unethical and un-American things that happened in the Biden administration.” He suggests that Elizabeth Warren’s fingerprints are all over it and that the Democratic party should distance itself from her if they want to rebuild.
Debanking refers to the process of a bank or financial institution revoking or restricting services to a customer, often closing their accounts without providing clear reasons. Andreessen alleges that there is no due process in this matter, no written rules, no court, and no decision process. There is no appeal, and people cannot go to court to get their bank accounts back.
Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long shared her company’s experience of being debanked. She tweeted that her company was debanked repeatedly, and a pending lawsuit against the Fed is scheduled for January 21. The issue of debanking is not confined to the U.S. In September 2023, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reviewed claims of politically motivated debanking, and Australia has also been accused of closing banking services linked to crypto firms, which allegedly began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FCA reported no evidence of accounts being closed primarily due to political views, but the findings sparked major skepticism.
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<p>The post Title: Tech Founders Caught in ‘Operation Chokepoint 2.0’: Financial Exclusion as Political Warfare first appeared on CoinBuzzFeed.</p>
