On Thursday, U.S. lawmakers expressed divided opinions during a House Financial Services Committee oversight panel hearing, which centered on the challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry in accessing banking services.

According to The Block, this debate highlighted the lingering effects of the FTX collapse and raised questions about why the digital asset sector has been sidelined by banks.

The hearing, titled “Operation Choke Point 2.0: The Biden Administration’s Efforts to Put Crypto in the Crosshairs," saw crypto industry leaders lament their exclusion from banking services.

Some members of Congress showed support, while others were more critical. Representative Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) criticized the previous administration for allegedly attempting to disconnect the crypto industry from the broader economy, advocating for fair access to banking for all legal businesses.

Crypto debanking has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill in recent months, with increasing calls for investigations and vocal criticism from crypto firms struggling to establish and maintain U.S. bank accounts. The term "Operation Choke Point 2.0" is used by some in the industry to draw parallels with a 2013 Department of Justice initiative that aimed to restrict banking services to businesses deemed high-risk for fraudulent activities.

During a separate Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), known for her critical stance on crypto, expressed that the industry should not be barred from the banking system. Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, testified at this hearing and received Warren's support.

Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN ) has actively opposed debanking, with its Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal addressing the FDIC's "pause letters" during Thursday's hearing. These letters, issued between March 2022 and May 2023, instructed some financial institutions to halt the expansion of crypto-related activities. A transcript from a hearing in Coinbase's lawsuit against the FDIC, released on Thursday, revealed a judge's strong critique of the FDIC for not producing adequate documentation related to Coinbase's FOIA request and possibly destroying pertinent information.

Despite the support for the crypto industry from some lawmakers, others remained skeptical. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) pointed to the substantial losses experienced by investors during the "crypto winter" and the downfall of companies like FTX and Celsius. Representative Al Green (D-Texas) dismissed the notion of Operation Chokepoint 2.0 as a fabricated concept, framing the regulatory debate as finding the right balance rather than an excess or lack of oversight.

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