JPMorgan Pauses Gemini Re-Onboarding Amid Fight Over Consumer Data Access
The halt follows tensions over open banking rules and data access fees
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: The story behind JPMorgan’s battle with Gemini, Roman Storm’s defense asks the judge to strike key government testimony, and the latest from Washington this week.
A battle over consumer data access has resulted in JPMorgan pausing the resumption of banking services to crypto exchange Gemini, Crypto In America has learned.
The move follows a tweet from Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss accusing JPMorgan of trying to “kill fintech and crypto companies” by blocking free consumer access to banking data through third-party apps like Plaid.
Gemini* confirmed the pause to Crypto In America. JPMorgan declined to comment on specific client relationships but said through a spokesperson:
“JPMorganChase banks many of the best-known crypto companies in the world and is currently onboarding new crypto clients. We’re the #1 bank facilitating consumers’ access to their data, including Chase clients connecting their bank accounts seamlessly to their crypto wallets, and we are focused on keeping that data safe from unregulated data middlemen. It’s patently false that we would block this traffic.”
According to Winklevoss, Gemini had only recently been re-onboarded at JPMorgan — a move he said came after the bank previously cut them off during what he and the broader crypto industry have dubbed “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” the alleged coordinated effort by Biden-era regulators and banks to debank the broader crypto industry.
The dispute comes as JPMorgan plans to begin charging fintech firms steep fees to access customer banking data — a move that’s testing the limits of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s so-called Open Banking Rule, which is now tied up in legal challenges.
The big picture: Under the Biden Administration, the CFPB finalized the Open Banking Rule under Section 1033 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act last year. The rule, set to be implemented in phases, guarantees consumers the right to securely share their banking data with trusted third-party apps — from budgeting tools to crypto wallets — and aims to boost innovation and competition.
But the rule’s future is now uncertain. Major banks, including JPMorgan, are backing lawsuits to block or delay its implementation. The Trump administration, under Acting CFPB Director Russ Vought, has also publicly opposed Section 1033, calling the CFPB’s framework ‘unlawful and anti-competitive.’
Banks argue that data aggregators like Plaid are engaging in relentless data harvesting and accessing accounts too frequently, often without consumers’ clear knowledge, creating fraud and security risks.
Bank critics say this is just old-school protectionism — a way for entrenched institutions to choke off competition and lock in their market power.
Meanwhile, some in the crypto industry see the pause on Gemini’s banking resumption as an even more worrying part of the equation.
One industry source told Crypto In America:
“Pausing onboarding after Winklevoss’s tweets feels like a new form of Operation Choke Point.”
More to come on this story.
🏛️ What’s Happening in Washington This Week?
The House is already on August recess, but the Senate’s sticking around for another week to try and push through as many of President Trump’s stalled nominees as they can before breaking too. Here’s what else we’re watching:
Monday
5:30 PM EST: The Senate Agriculture Committee will meet to advance the nomination of Brian Quintenz to be the next CFTC chair, following a postponement last week.
Tuesday
10:00 AM EST: We’ll get a glimpse into how consumers are feeling about their financial situation and the broader economy with the release of the Consumer Confidence Index.
Wednesday
TBD: The White House is expected to release its long-awaited interagency report on digital assets.
10:00 AM EST: The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing on AI in financial markets.
2:00 PM EST: The Federal Reserve announces its next interest rate decision. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 PM.
Friday
8:30 AM EST: The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the July jobs report.
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Storm Defense Moves to Strike IRS Agent Testimony
In a Sunday letter to Judge Failla, Storm’s defense team asked the court to strike the testimony of government witness IRS Special Agent Stephan George, following what they say was a highly prejudicial late disclosure by the government.
According to the defense, prosecutors turned over more than a dozen files on Saturday afternoon containing data tied to George’s testimony about tracing funds through crypto exchange Binance, as well as whether the stolen crypto of Hanfeng “Katie” Lin — the government’s first witness — was connected to Tornado Cash.
Storm’s lawyers argue the late disclosure violated federal evidence and discovery rules and left them unable to properly cross-examine George. While the court had previously allowed the defense to recall him, they now say that remedy is unfair and likely to confuse the jury, since it would require the defense to call a government witness during its own case.
Instead, they’re asking Judge Failla to remove George’s testimony from the record entirely and instruct the jury to assume the missing data could have helped the defense.
Meanwhile, we’re expecting to learn more about whether the defense will call Tom Schmidt of Dragonfly, the venture capital firm that backed Tornado Cash, and whether he’ll be granted immunity to testify after invoking the Fifth Amendment through his attorney.
This follows Friday’s revelation that the DOJ is still considering charges against an unspecified number of people at the firm. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi responded to the news in a post on X, saying the VC did nothing wrong by investing in the crypto mixer and stands by its decision.
Emails shown in court last week revealed detailed communications between Storm, his cofounders, and Dragonfly’s Qureshi and Schmidt, including one in which Storm’s team sought feedback on adding anti-money laundering protections to the platform.
The trial is expected to wrap up this week, with closing arguments likely in the second half.
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JP Morgan needs a real competitor. Ripple being a bank should solve the problem.