JPMorgan has a blunt response on killing fintech companies originally appeared on TheStreet .
JPMorgan has temporarily halted plans to re-onboard the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, following a very public clash over access to consumer banking data.
The move comes just days after Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss accused the bank of trying to "kill fintech and crypto companies."
At the heart of the dispute is Plaid, a widely used fintech service that helps users link their bank accounts to apps like Gemini, Coinbase, and other financial platforms.
Operation ChokePoint 2.0 allegations
On July 20, Winklevoss alleged that JPMorgan is deliberately making it harder for customers to access their own financial data via these third-party services.
"JPMorgan and the banksters are trying to kill fintech and crypto companies. They want to take away your right to access your banking data for FREE via third-party apps like Plaid and instead charge you and fintechs exorbitant fees to access YOUR DATA. This will bankrupt fintechs that help you link your bank accounts to crypto companies like Gemini, Coinbase, and KrakenFX, so you can easily fund your account with fiat to buy bitcoin and crypto."
Winklevoss suggested this is part of a broader effort by large financial institutions to choke off crypto access — what he calls "Operation ChokePoint 2.0." That term refers to an alleged coordinated effort by banks or regulators to de-bank certain sectors by cutting off critical services.
Six days later, he followed up with a more direct accusation:
"This week, JPMorgan told us that because of it, they were pausing their re-onboarding of Gemini as a customer after they off-boarded us during Operation ChokePoint 2.0. Sorry, Jamie Dimon, we're not going to stay silent."
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What's the open banking rule?
The backdrop to this fight is a new U.S. regulation known as the Open Banking Rule, announced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in 2023. This rule is designed to give consumers the right to share their financial data with trusted apps — including crypto wallets — using services like Plaid.
Banks are now pushing back, with JPMorgan among those questioning the rule's implications. On July 23, ten crypto firms signed a joint letter urging President Donald Trump to intervene and uphold consumers' rights to data portability.
JPMorgan responds
When contacted by TheStreet Roundtable , JPMorgan did not comment on Gemini specifically, but said in a statement:
"JPMorganChase banks many of the best-known crypto companies in the world and is currently onboarding new crypto clients. It's patently false that we would block this traffic."
Instead, the bank says the real issue is uncontrolled data harvesting by aggregators like Plaid. According to JPMorgan, Plaid accesses user bank accounts nearly 2 billion times a month, often without the user's consent, leading to significant fraud and data security concerns.
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"Monthly API requests have quadrupled over the last two years—from under 500 million to nearly two billion—while 90% of the time without a consumer's request. It's not innovation—it's relentless data harvesting," said JP Morgan.
JPMorgan claims it is not trying to block innovation, but rather protect customers from unregulated and potentially risky data practices. The bank says it would support "responsible data access" that costs less than 10 cents per customer per month.
"This excessive overreach comes with severe consequences that put consumers at risk. Over the past year alone, we documented tens of millions of dollars in fraud claims originating from aggregator traffic. Real money was stolen. Real customers were compromised. This isn't an abstract risk—it's a stark, costly reality borne by real people," added the bank.
TheStreet Roundtable reached out to Gemini through multiple avenues, but the company has not responded as of publication.
JPMorgan has a blunt response on killing fintech companies first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 28, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
