Crypto fam, the TradFi vs. Crypto tension just escalated! On December 26, 2025, reports dropped that JPMorgan Chase has frozen banking access for at least two fast-growing stablecoin startups – Blindpay and Kontigo (both Y Combinator-backed and focused on Latin America) – due to exposure to high-risk jurisdictions like Venezuela and a surge in chargebacks.
Key details:
The startups weren't direct JPM clients but accessed banking rails via Checkbook, a payments partner backed by JPM.
Triggers: Operations in sanctioned regions (U.S. sanctions on Venezuela are strict), disputed transactions from rapid customer onboarding, and overall compliance red flags.
JPM spokesperson: "This has nothing to do with stablecoin companies. We bank both stablecoin issuers and stablecoin-related businesses, and we recently took a stablecoin issuer public."
This highlights the brutal reality: Stablecoins are borderless, but banking isn't. Even U.S.-based, compliant startups can get debanked overnight if they touch "high-risk" corridors – a classic Operation Chokepoint 2.0 vibe amid geopolitical risks.
Bigger picture? As stablecoin adoption explodes in places like LatAm (hedging inflation/hyperinflation), big banks are de-risking hard to avoid massive fines. Yet JPM is dipping toes deeper with its own JPM Coin and deposit tokens.
Bullish on self-custody and decentralized rails, or think clearer regs will fix this? How's this impacting your stablecoin plays? Drop your takes below! 👇🔥
#Stablecoins #Debanking #JPMorgan #CryptoNews #Venezuela