JPMorgan says it debanks both Democrats, Republicans

Last month, Bitcoin (BTC) advocate and CEO of Bitcoin payments platform Strike, Jack Mallers, reignited the debate over debanking crypto industry after alleging that JPMorgan Chase closed his personal and business accounts without explanation in September.

The accusations, amplified by U.S. President Donald Trump, sparked renewed fears that traditional banks were deliberately cutting off access to crypto-related entities.

This reignited fears of Operation Chokepoint 2.0, a label the crypto industry used to describe a coordinated effort by federal regulators and banks to deny services to crypto businesses.

On Dec. 7, appearing on Fox News, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon rejected those claims, saying the bank’s account closures were not influenced by customers’ political or industry affiliations.

Dimon responds to debanking allegations

Dimon acknowledged that JPMorgan has indeed terminated services for various individuals and businesses, but denied that political bias or involvement in the digital asset sector was a factor.

He added that existing reporting requirements sometimes force banks to drop clients over “suspected things” or “negative media,” calling such rules “customer unfriendly.

In August, Trump signed an executive order directing financial regulators to investigate claims of political or crypto-related debanking. Dimon said JPMorgan had recommended reforms to reduce reporting burdens and limit unnecessary account closures.

“I actually applaud the Trump administration, who’s trying to say that debanking is bad and we should change the rules. Well, damn it, I have been asking to change the rules now for 15 years. So change the rules," Dimon said.

Despite the crypto-positive initiatives from the Trump administration, Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, recently warned that crypto firms could face “debanking pressure” until at least 2026.

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Dimon says ‘people need to grow up’

The debanking controversy also drew in Trump Media, whose CEO Devin Nunes, claimed JPMorgan debanked the company as part of a wider investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, involving over 400 Trump-linked entities.

When asked about those allegations, Dimon dismissed them as unfounded.

“People have to grow up here, OK, and stop making up things and stuff like that,” Dimon said. “I can’t talk about an individual account. We do not debank people for religious or political affiliations.

“We do debank them. They have religious or political affiliations. We debank people who are Democrats. We debank people who are Republicans. We have debanked different religious folks. Never was that for that reason.”

Dimon emphasized that both Democratic and Republican administrations have criticized the bank over the years.

“Democratic and Republican governments have come after us both; let’s not act like this is just one side doing this. This has been going on for a long time. And we should stop militarizing the government that kind of way.”

Related: JPMorgan CEO Trying to Crash Bitcoin Price? Crypto Shutdown