House Committee Investigates Federal Pressure on Banks to Drop Crypto Clients

Mounting political scrutiny is targeting federal regulators amid explosive allegations that major banks were pressured to cut ties with lawful crypto businesses under shifting oversight rules.

Federal Oversight Questioned Over Banks Dropping Lawful Crypto Businesses

Political pressure is intensifying scrutiny on federal banking oversight as lawmakers investigate whether regulators have indirectly orchestrated efforts to freeze out crypto-linked and politically disfavored businesses. U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer announced on June 25 that the committee is seeking records from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to determine if major banks have been coerced into debanking lawful American entities.

Comer’s letter to Acting Comptroller Rodney Hood requests internal communications and enforcement details, particularly surrounding the OCC’s issuance and subsequent March 7 revocation of Interpretive Letter 1179, which had laid the groundwork for federally chartered banks to engage with digital asset businesses. Comer wrote:

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the improper debanking of individuals and entities based on political viewpoints or involvement in certain industries such as cryptocurrency and blockchain.

The Committee’s investigation builds on earlier outreach, including a Jan. 24 request to blockchain companies and a Feb. 27 letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) about experiences of being debanked. Comer cited whistleblower concerns that many of the nation’s largest financial institutions, under OCC jurisdiction, were not adequately addressed in previous agency responses.

He underscored the importance of examining how regulators may be influencing or deterring institutional interest in digital assets. Comer stated:

As the OCC is the primary regulator of banks chartered under the National Bank Act—specifically the nation’s largest banks with assets between $50 billion and $3 trillion—the Committee seeks information about the OCC’s enforcement of financial institution’s interest and expansion into crypto and crypto-related businesses.

In the wake of these developments, the OCC issued new guidance for national banks and federal savings associations concerning crypto-asset activities. Interpretive Letter 1183, released in March 2025, formally rescinded Interpretive Letter 1179, thereby removing the requirement for supervisory non-objection for actions including crypto-asset custody, stablecoin reserve services, and participation in distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks. Additionally, the OCC withdrew from select interagency statements addressing crypto-asset risks. While banks are no longer required to obtain explicit OCC approval, they must still conduct crypto-related operations in a manner deemed safe and sound, comply with relevant laws, and implement rigorous risk management frameworks.