80 crypto leaders urge Donald Trump to block bank fees threatening open banking

Over 80 executives from leading crypto and fintech companies, including Gemini, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, and Kraken, have called on US President Donald Trump to block new bank-imposed fees for accessing consumer financial data.

In an Aug. 14 letter, the group argued that these charges, set to take effect in September, directly threaten innovation and consumer choice.

They said the fees make it harder for Americans to connect their bank accounts to preferred financial products, undermining recent progress in financial technology policy.

The signatories accused the country’s largest banks of deliberately restricting access to essential financial services.

According to them, this move would consolidate control in the hands of a few institutions, limit competition, and stifle advancements in three strategic sectors, including cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and digital wallets.

They added:

“This is not a dispute over fair pricing; it is an anti-competitive move designed to consolidate power. It threatens to cripple innovative products and may cause small businesses and financial tools to shut down entirely.”

Industry warns of broader impacts

Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said he signed the Financial Freedom letter because the stakes extend far beyond fintech.

He called the proposed fees “technically backwards, economically short-sighted, and strategically dangerous,” warning that they threaten the foundation of programmable money and open finance.

According to him, the proposed fees could turn the most dynamic financial technology sector in the world into a walled garden run by a few institutions.

He added:

“If we want to lead in programmable money, real world assets, stablecoins, and self custodial finance, then we need to defend the basic principle that consumer data access should be easy, safe, and free.”

Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss also echoed this view, emphasizing that consumers should have unrestricted access to their funds and data.

Winklevoss said:

“Banks should not be able to trap your funds and data with them and make it difficult for you to access your data or move your capital to wherever you see fit. That is your human right and foundational to the proper functioning of the system of capitalism that our country was founded on.”

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