Why Was a Crypto Employee Debanked?

Marc Andreessen says an employee doing crypto policy was debanked because crypto was in his job title. The bank said it screened the customer base for anyone with crypto. Crypto was politically controversial, so anybody with crypto became a politically exposed person.

A Wells Notice is a notification that you may be charged at some point in the future. The SEC does not have to investigate, subpoena, or prosecute anyone for the notice to do damage. A company holding one has trouble doing business with anybody else, working with a big company, or getting access to a bank. Under Biden, the SEC did a lot with DEI and then ESG. ESG is a malleable concept, and the agency piled new requirements into it, so the SEC could dictate what companies do with no accountability. Hearings where officials get yelled at changed nothing.

Terms such as compliance, reputation management, and tone at the top are code for crushing an individual with no due process. The Constitution gives a right to due process, and the long-run argument is that the pressure is unconstitutional because it is government pressure. A Supreme Court case in five years will probably find the pressure illegal after the fact, in his view. Losing a court challenge can bring even heavier repercussions, and the risk is not worth it after a life has already been upended.