The Federal Reserve Board of Governors ( OCC ) stated that in a 47-page review of nine large banks, it was found that bank policies restrict digital asset companies, but it is still not possible to measure the full extent of the trend towards debanking.

In a statement released on Wednesday, OCC stated that certain banks maintain 'public and non-public policies' that restrict the provision of services to industries including digital assets, oil and natural gas, tobacco, and firearms.

According to the institution, these restrictions have affected a variety of crypto businesses, rather than a single type of activity or service. It was found that digital asset companies affected by banking policies include issuers, exchanges, and managers.

OCC indicates that 'many institutions have also imposed restrictions on digital asset activities within the banking sector, including issuers, exchanges, or managers, which are usually attributed to considerations related to financial crime.'

The limitations of decentralization in encryption are still difficult to quantify.

Despite identifying restrictive policies, regulatory authorities stated that through the review of nine large banks, they are still "unable to fully quantify the full extent of debanking or so-called debanking activities."

OCC This 47-page report does not provide specific cases involving digital asset activities. Therefore, the discussion on encryption restrictions in the report only includes the types of businesses affected and the concerns expressed by banks, without providing detailed explanations for the closure of individual accounts.

In the accompanying comments, Auditor-General Jonathan Gould mainly focused on restrictions related to coal and firearms. When discussing bank decisions regarding coal, he questioned the reasons given by the institutions for withdrawing their support.

Gould said, 'These decisions are not based on financial risks.'

According to this auditor general, the bank then cited negative news, public protests, and the reputational consequences they believed supporting the coal industry would bring. His comments were directed at decisions related to coal, while the report separately described the financial crime considerations cited for the restrictions on digital assets.

Trump's executive order requires bank decisions to be based on risk.

OCC attributes this review to the executive order signed by Trump in August 2025, which targets what it calls "illegal debanking."

According to a report by crypto.news in August 2025, Trump's anti-debanking executive order, titled "Ensuring Fair Bank Services for All Americans," established a policy against denying financial services due to protected beliefs, affiliations, or political views.

According to the policy stated in this administrative order, bank decisions should be based on an objective, risk-oriented assessment of each customer. The protection targets are the rights of Americans and legitimate businesses to access financial services, and not just cryptocurrency companies.

Venture capitalist Nic Carter warned in response to the administrative order that it can be difficult to distinguish between political exclusion and business decisions. In his view, regulatory pressures may increase the cost of serving certain customers, thereby allowing banks to describe account closures as ordinary business decisions.

Carter believes that banks should retain the ability to terminate relationships with unprofitable or high-risk customers. The solutions he proposes focus on transparency and accountability, so that customers can be informed of the reasons for account closure in a timely and accurate manner.

The report presented this executive order following industry allegations that officials during the tenure of former President Joe Biden had influenced banks to withdraw their services from crypto companies.

Earlier studies have linked account closures to government pressure.

In another study published on January 12th, the Cato Institute attributed the significant debanking in the United States to direct or indirect government pressure. Their research on bank access distinguished between government-driven exclusions, closures based on political beliefs or religious affiliations, and closures for ordinary commercial reasons.

According to this research, direct pressure may include letters requiring banks to close accounts or court orders. Indirect pressure may come from regulations that make certain customers too risky to serve for the institutions.

The Cato Institute cited correspondence with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC ) stating that banks had received requests to suspend crypto-related activities, but there was no clear timeline or follow-up. The institution listed cryptocurrency companies as one of the industries affected by such pressure.

Although the Cato Institute believes that administrative actions and changes in institutional leadership have addressed some concerns, its report argues that lasting reforms still require action by Congress.

In its recommendations, the institution called for amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act, the termination of regulations based on reputational risk, and a reduction in confidentiality restrictions that place pressure on the government to undergo public scrutiny.

Recently, banks have decided to include account closure and license application processes.

A report on August 14th documented JPMorgan Chase closing the Polymarket account. According to the Financial Times, the bank terminated its relationship with the company in October 2025 due to regulatory concerns and required this market forecasting firm to find a new banking partner.

The Financial Times reported that Polymarket subsequently turned to another bank. In an interview with the media, the company stated that despite the closure of its account, it still maintained relationships with JPMorgan Chase regarding operational connections and customer fund flows.

On another regulatory path, Gould stated on August 11 that digital asset companies engaged in legally permitted activities should have access to the national banking system of the United States.

A report released on August 12 described the licensing policies for crypto banks under OCC, as well as the fact that the institution had received 40 new bank applications in the previous 18 months, including applications from national trust banks. At that time, there were 13 applications pending review on its digital asset licensing list.

According to the record referenced in the report with the identifier OCC, regulatory authorities rejected the application from Wise National Trust on July 21st.