A recent report published by the House Financial Services Committee, led by Chairman French Hill, asserts that the U.S. government intentionally suppressed bitcoin industry development under the Biden administration.
The document, released Monday, focuses on what Hill and industry advocates have dubbed “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” a campaign of regulatory pressure targeting digital asset firms.
Allegations of targeted debanking
According to the committee’s findings, agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Reserve created uncertainty for financial institutions, discouraging them from working with bitcoin-related businesses. The report claims:
“The Biden administration sought to make it nearly impossible to engage in digital asset related activities. To do so, it utilized a regulatory regime that provided too little certainty to financial institutions and gave too much discretion to the regulators that oversee them.”
Lack of regulatory clarity
Hill’s report highlights that, rather than establishing clear rules for bitcoin and related digital assets, agencies relied on enforcement actions and informal guidance.
This approach, the committee argues, led to a climate where bankers viewed the sector as excessively risky, especially after several high-profile exchange failures and fraud cases in 2022 and 2023.
Shifts under new administration
The report notes that Trump administration regulators have since rescinded multiple Biden-era policies that contributed to the debanking of bitcoin firms.
This shift comes as Congress advances new legislation to regulate stablecoins and broader digital asset markets.
