Intro

Today on Upstream, we’re releasing an interview between Erik Torenberg and Patrick McKenzie. Patrick discusses Operation Chokepoint, the origins of debanking, and how it affects the crypto industry, offering detailed insights into the political motivations, regulatory complexities, and practical ramifications of such banking decisions.

—

📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess 

🙏Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse 

—

RECOMMENDED PODCASTS: 

🎙️Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie

Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) talks to experts who understand the complicated but not unknowable systems we rely on. You might be surprised at how quickly Patrick and his guests can put you in the top 1% of understanding for stock trading, tech hiring, and more.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOH 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/complex-systems-with-patrick-mckenzie-patio11/id1753399812 

🎙️Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. This season's guests include: Delian Asparouhov & Nadia Asparouhova, Kristen Berman & Phil Levin, Rob Henderson, and Liv Boeree & Igor Kurganov.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVg 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod 

—

SPONSORS:

☁️Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. OCI has four to eight times the bandwidth of other clouds and offers one consistent price. Oracle is offering to cut your cloud bill in half. See if your company qualifies at oracle.com/turpentine 

📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at notion.com/upstreampod 

🎯Say goodbye to the headaches of out-of-home advertising. AdQuick combines technology, OOH expertise, and data to enable efficient, seamless ad buying across the globe. Visit adquick.com to start reaching your customers in the real world.

💥 Head to Squad to access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com/  and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.

—

LINKS:

Debanking (and Debunking?) https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/debanking-and-debunking/  

a16z's Debanking explainer: https://a16zcrypto.com/posts/article/debanking-explained/ 

—

X / TWITTER:

@patio11

@eriktorenberg

@turpentinemedia

—

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:

• Marc Andreessen's Joe Rogan appearance discussing politically motivated debanking sparked this investigation into the topic.
• "Debanking" is revealed as an advocacy term covering account terminations, denials, and actions against crypto-friendly banks.
• Operation Chokepoint was an Obama-era DOJ program using banking laws to pressure banks away from servicing certain industries.
• "Operation Chokepoint 2.0" is not an actual program but a term coined by crypto advocates to describe recent crypto banking challenges.
• Silvergate Bank, a major crypto-friendly bank, wound down after the FTX collapse amid allegations of compliance failures and fraud involvement.
• The tech industry connects debanking to broader government overreach concerns, including social media content moderation.
• Canada's Freedom Convoy response represents a clear example of government-directed financial targeting, unlike the claimed US situation.
• The crypto industry pushes the debanking narrative as part of a specific policy agenda.