Crypto Industry Asks President Trump to Stop JPMorgan’s 'Punitive Tax' on Data Access

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Ten of the biggest commerce associations in fintech and crypto have referred to as on President Donald Trump to intervene in what they are saying is a coordinated assault by massive banks to stifle innovation and lock out opponents.

In a letter despatched on Wednesday, the teams, which embody the Blockchain Association, and the Crypto Council for Innovation, warned that JPMorgan’s plan to cost charges for entry to shopper banking knowledge threatens to de-bank tens of millions of Americans and will cripple the adoption of stablecoins (USDC, USDT) and self-custody wallets.

At the middle of the struggle is how Americans fund digital wallets and exchanges. Aggregators like Plaid and MX allow shoppers to switch funds from their financial institution accounts to platforms like Coinbase or Kraken. These connections rely on direct entry to user-permissioned knowledge.

Until now, banks have allowed that entry with out charging charges. However, JPMorgan has begun informing aggregators that they’ll want to pay for it—reportedly up to $300 million per 12 months for Plaid alone which might quantity to greater than 75% of firm's income.

“Let us be clear: financial data belongs to the American people, not the banks,” the letter reads. “By challenging open banking, the largest banks stand in direct opposition to your vision of making America the financial innovation capital of the world.”

The letter urges the White House to act earlier than July 29, when the administration is due to file a authorized transient within the courtroom battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s open banking rule.

The CFPB’s open banking rule, finalized in late 2024 as Rule 1033, requires banks to give shoppers free entry to their account knowledge and permit them to share it with third-party companies.

The rule was meant to degree the enjoying discipline between banks and fintechs. But banks sued to block it on the day it was finalized, and the CFPB has since requested the courtroom to vacate the rule totally.

In a submit on X, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi referred to as JPMorgan’s transfer a “calculated shift” that turns user-generated knowledge right into a toll, warning that the trade is witnessing a well-recognized sample of centralization turning into management.

“There is a version of the future where every financial interaction is intermediated by systems that monitor, price, and gate access to your own data,” he wrote. “Crypto presents an alternative. But that alternative is not guaranteed.”

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