‘Crypto industry in America will be dead,’ Tyler Winklevoss warns

• Federal Reserve has initiated enforcement action against crypto-friendly Customers Bank. 
• Tyler Winklevoss sees the move as an extension of ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0’ by the Biden-Harris administration. 

The crypto market has raised the alarm over renewed “Operation Choke Point 2.0.” The warning was issued after the Federal Reserve sued crypto-friendly bank Customer Bancorp. 

Commenting on the update, Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, stated that “Operation Choke Point 2.0” was ongoing and called Kamala Harris’s crypto “reset” a “scam.” 

“Today, the Fed confirmed that Operation Choke Point 2.0 remains in full swing, provided valuable insight into how it works, and verified that the Harris crypto “reset” is a scam.”

For the unfamiliar, Operation Choke Point 2.0 refers to perceived actions by U.S. regulators to restrict crypto firms from accessing banking services.

SAB 121, which restricted major banks from the crypto custody business, was part of Operation Choke Point 2.o as well 

Customers Bank under scrutiny

In the enforcement action issued on the 8th of August, the Federal Reserve instructed Customers Bank to give it a 30-day notice before onboarding any crypto firm. 

Source: Federal Reserve

In the order, the Federal Reserve alleged “significant deficiencies” in Customer Bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, especially in its digital asset strategy. 

According to Tyler Winklevoss, the order meant that the Fed was the only gatekeeper between banking services and crypto firms. 

He added that this would kill the American crypto industry if it continues for the next four years. 

“Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is alive and well. The Biden-Harris Administration’s reign of terror continues. If this goes on unabated for 4 more years, the crypto industry in America will be dead.”

A recent meeting between crypto executives and White House advisors also revealed a lack of commitment to policy change. This could fuel the fears. 

Meanwhile, the odds of Trump, a pro-crypto candidate, winning the US elections have dropped to 48% on the prediction site Polymarket.

Earlier in the week, Trump and Harris were tied on winning odds. At the time of writing, Harris led with 49%, while the odds of a Trump win were 48%. 

Source: Polymarket

If anything, the data showed that Harris’s potential win couldn’t be wished away. 

If she wins, the perceived enforcement action from Democrats could be extended into the new administration, as captured by Winklevoss,

“The Fed is on its best behavior at the moment because the election is around the corner. If Harris wins in November, the gloves will come off.”