The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the regulatory body overseeing banks in the United States, has released 790 pages of additional correspondence related to firms offering crypto services to clients.
According to the FDIC, the documents show requests from banks and other institutions to offer crypto services to clients were almost always met with resistance, delays, constant requests for more information and pause letters.
The newly revealed document tranche included previously released correspondence from 24 banking firms and additional correspondence from other firms that requested permission to offer crypto-related services.
“Looking forward, we are actively reevaluating our supervisory approach to crypto-related activities,” FDIC Acting Chairman Travis Hill wrote, marking a seismic shift in the government agency’s stance toward the crypto industry.
Additional FDIC document relating to crypto services. Source: FDIC
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FDIC exposed in Freedom of Information Act request
Coinbase filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for FDIC documents related to the debanking of crypto firms under Operation Chokepoint 2.0 in October 2024.
One of the requests sought documentation relating to a 15% cap on bank deposits from crypto-related companies.
A US court released the initial tranche of FDIC documents in December 2024, which included several heavily redacted pause letters sent to banks offering crypto services or products to clients.
Following the public release of the documents, US Judge Ana Reyes chastised the FDIC for the heavy redactions and ordered the agency to produce more transparent documents.
The FDIC “cannot simply blanket redact everything that is not an article or preposition,” Judge Reyes wrote in a Dec. 12 order, which characterized the redactions as a “lack of good-faith effort.”
Senator Lummis’ letter to the FDIC instructing them to preserve records related to crypto enforcement. Source: Senator Cynthia Lummis
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis accused the FDIC of destroying documents related to Operation Chokepoint 2.0 in January 2025 and instructed the agency to preserve all records relating to “digital asset activities” from 2022 onward.
Senator Lummis also threatened to make criminal referrals to the US Department of Justice if the destruction of evidence by FDIC employees was discovered by the Senate Banking Committee.
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