JPMorgan Chase shuts ShapeShift employee’s business account, says his personal account will be next
JPMorgan Chase closed the business account of ShapeShift's Head of Marketing, Houston Morgan, and warned his personal account would follow.Summary
JPMorgan Chase closed the business bank account of Houston Morgan, the Head of Marketing and Protocol Relations at ShapeShift, without prior warning. Morgan stated that a representative informed him the bank was "discontinuing business" with him to "protect the financial institution of Chase," offering no opportunity to appeal or provide documentation. Furthermore, he was told his personal account would also be closed the following week, prompting him to withdraw those funds.
This action follows the recent closure of accounts belonging to Strike CEO Jack Mallers, which has fueled concerns about crypto "debanking" in the U.S. Mallers' case drew criticism from Senator Cynthia Lummis, who suggested the closures reflect an ongoing "Operation Chokepoint 2.0." These incidents occur despite a recent executive order from President Trump directing regulators not to penalize banks working with crypto companies. Morgan's business account, which he used for ShapeShift DAO-related workstream payments, reportedly held around $40,000.
(Source：The Block)