"Operation Chokepoint 2.0" was never a conspiracy theory.
Previously disclosed internal documents from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reveal that in 2023, U.S. regulators indeed launched an organized de-banking campaign against the cryptocurrency industry.
That year, following the successive collapses of Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Bank, regulators used institutional friction to restrict banks from providing services to crypto companies, leading to reduced liquidity and access for the sector. One of the core tools of this campaign was a key policy statement issued by the Federal Reserve that year—classifying banks' involvement in stablecoins, on-chain settlements, crypto custody, and other activities as "high-risk innovative activities" and imposing additional approval barriers.
But just yesterday, this blockade was dismantled by the Fed. Latest reports indicate that the Federal Reserve has formally revoked the restrictive policy issued in 2023. This is not a sudden shift to a "friendly" regulatory stance, but rather an acknowledgment that the past isolation strategy could no longer cope with the rapidly evolving on-chain capital flows and industry realities.
Early Signs of Risk
Over the past year, one fact has become increasingly clear:
· Stablecoin scale continues to expand
· On-chain dollar transactions are becoming more frequent
· Capital flows have not returned to the banking system
The most critical dollar settlement activities are instead occurring in regions with weaker regulatory reach. This has turned the isolation strategy originally intended to "prevent risks" into a source of systemic vulnerability.
It is against this backdrop that the Federal Reserve recently formally revoked its restrictive policy statement from 2023, reintegrating banks' involvement in crypto-related businesses into the conventional prudential regulatory framework.
Custodia's Counterattack
The direct consequence of the isolation policy and Operation Chokepoint was that some crypto banks were unable to access the dollar settlement system. Custodia Bank is the most typical case. This bank, focused on crypto custody, applied for a Federal Reserve master account for three years but never received approval, remaining excluded from the dollar clearing system.
Recently, Custodia submitted a petition for an en banc rehearing to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting a reconsideration of the previous ruling that denied its master account application. Although a ruling has not yet been issued, the lawsuit itself has become a crucial window for observing the shift in U.S. regulatory logic: the market can use Custodia's case to understand whether regulation is gradually moving from "presumptively no" to "compliant access."
How Regulation Manages
Almost simultaneously, the SEC released a "Statement on Broker-Dealer Custody of Crypto Asset Securities." The document shows that regulators are no longer纠结 on whether to allow it, but are systematically stipulating:
· How private keys should be managed
· How to assess blockchain technology risks
· How to respond to extreme scenarios like 51% attacks, hard forks, etc.
Crypto-related businesses are no longer treated as "exceptional items" but as常规 risks within the financial system that can be regulated.
Institutional Shift
Viewing recent developments together reveals a clear trend:
· The Fed revokes special restrictions targeting crypto
· The SEC provides an operational framework for custody
· The OCC expands recognition of stablecoins and custody institutions
· The regulatory focus shifts from blocking to structured management
The regulatory focus has shifted from blocking to structured management. Crypto is no longer isolated as a whole but broken down into manageable modules: settlement, custody, clearing, risk control.
Re-Entry
In 2023, U.S. regulators chose to "keep crypto out."
In 2025, they realized: long-term absence is itself the greatest risk.
This is not a victory for any one side, but an acknowledgment of reality—when on-chain dollars have become part of global capital flows, the only choice for regulators is not to ignore it, but to re-enter it.
Real change will not be reflected in short-term market movements, but in: who is allowed to participate in the next stage of the dollar settlement and custody system.
And this is the core significance of this policy adjustment.
*This content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. The market carries risks, and investment requires caution.
