Trump’s Crackdown on “Operation Chokepoint 3.0” Could Reshape U.S. Crypto Banking
The battle over crypto’s place in America’s banking system has entered its most explosive phase. Andreessen Horowitz’s Alex Rampell warns that banks are waging a quieter, costlier war on fintech and crypto firms — not by outright bans, but by jacking up fees for transactions to platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood.
Alex Konanykhin, CEO of Unicoin, says his company was debanked by four major institutions this year alone. President Donald Trump is reportedly drafting an executive order to punish banks that unlawfully cut off services and force certain lenders to reinstate dropped clients.
Legal experts warn the outcome will hinge on the fine print of pending legislation like the Genius Act, which will define the future of stablecoin regulation. The question now: Will Trump’s intervention deliver the knockout blow to the banking chokehold, or will “Operation Chokepoint 3.0” tighten its grip?
Blue Origin Blasts Crypto Into Orbit 🚀
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has officially made space travel crypto-friendly. Through a deal with Shift4 Payments, passengers can now buy tickets for the New Shepard spacecraft using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and stablecoins.
This isn’t crypto’s first journey beyond Earth — from SpaceChain’s blockchain transactions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to NFTs hitching rides on SpaceX missions, the space-crypto connection is becoming a cosmic tradition. But Blue Origin’s move cements digital assets in the luxury travel market, offering crypto whales the ultimate FOMO flex: buying your ticket to space straight from your MetaMask wallet.
Ripple vs. SEC: The Curtain Falls on a 5-Year Legal Epic
One of crypto’s most watched court battles has ended. Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have agreed to drop appeals, ending a dispute that began in 2020 when the agency accused Ripple of selling unregistered XRP securities worth $1.3 billion.
The landmark ruling: XRP is not a security for retail investors, though institutional sales still fall under securities law. Ripple paid $125 million in fines, but the industry sees the outcome as a symbolic win.
Now, attention turns to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are pushing the CLARITY Act to define digital asset classifications. Supporters see it as a path to regulatory certainty, while opponents warn it could weaken oversight. The next big crypto battle will be fought not in court, but in Congress.
Sovereign Wealth Funds Quietly Stack Bitcoin — The “Side Door” Strategy
Norway’s $1.6 trillion Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) has nearly doubled its indirect Bitcoin exposure in the past year — now holding the equivalent of 7,161 BTC through stakes in Bitcoin-heavy firms like MicroStrategy and Coinbase.
Bound by rules that prevent direct BTC purchases, the fund is using corporate equities as a backdoor into the market. This “side door” approach is catching on worldwide — from Wisconsin’s state investment board doubling Bitcoin ETF positions to Kazakhstan shifting part of its reserves into crypto.
With sovereign wealth funds now stealthily positioning for Bitcoin upside, the move signals that even the most conservative capital allocators see crypto as an unavoidable part of the global portfolio.
Bottom Line
This week’s events show crypto is no longer a fringe experiment — it’s a battleground for presidential orders, a ticket to space, a courtroom drama, and a cornerstone of trillion-dollar funds. The crypto revolution isn’t coming. It’s here, and the world’s biggest players are already making their moves.
