JPMorgan Chase has closed the corporate account of Houston Morgan, the head of marketing at the crypto platform ShapeShift, and informed him of the termination of his personal banking services, reports The Block.
“On November 21, I received a notice from Chase that they ‘needed additional information’ and that my accounts might be closed. It happened suddenly. No one contacted me about any issues, missing documents, or irregular activity,” said Morgan.
Minutes after the message, access to the accounts was blocked. The ShapeShift executive immediately contacted the bank’s support service—he was transferred between various departments for half an hour: general service, business banking, account verification, and so on.
“No one could provide a clear explanation. No one asked for clarification about the nature of my business or any documents. It seemed like I was just being redirected without any attempt to resolve the issue,” he emphasized.
Eventually, he spoke with a representative named Andre, who informed him that the decision had already been made without the possibility of appeal. According to Morgan, a support team member stated that Chase was “terminating cooperation” to “protect the bank’s financial system.”
“He couldn’t provide any details, citing internal policy. I was not given a chance to rectify the situation, provide documents, or contest the decision,” added the affected party.
The business account associated with the DAO-structured ShapeShift was blocked almost immediately. It held about $40,000, but the exact amount cannot be determined due to the lack of access to statements.
The executive used the account for operations in his field, conducting 30-50 transactions monthly.
“In fact, it was a quasi-ShapeShift account,” he clarified.
During the conversation, Andre warned that the personal account of the crypto platform representative would also be closed and recommended withdrawing the funds. Morgan followed the advice.
On November 23, JPMorgan Chase closed the accounts of Strike CEO Jack Mallers without providing specific reasons. Users linked the situation to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0″—a supposed covert pressure by U.S. authorities on banks to deny services to crypto industry representatives.
New Bitcoin Product
On November 24, JPMorgan Chase registered structured notes with the SEC based on the IBIT spot exchange-traded fund from BlackRock.
The instrument will allow investors to earn higher returns under certain conditions of Bitcoin’s movement until 2028.
The product offers two main scenarios:
- If after a year the IBIT price is at or above the set level, market participants will receive a guaranteed 16%.
- If the rate is lower, the notes will be valid until 2028, where exceeding the target mark will allow players to receive 1.5x the growth without limits.
The notes provide downside protection: if IBIT quotes fall by no more than 30% by 2028, investors will recover their initial investments. In the event of a deeper correction, losses will be proportional to the fund’s losses.
BlackRock manages assets worth $67 billion under the instrument.
A similar instrument linked to a Bitcoin ETF is offered by Morgan Stanley. In October, it brought the bank $104 million, according to Bloomberg.
The agency highlighted that demand for such products is growing—this symbolizes “the end of a years-long stagnation in the American industry that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.”
In November, investors accused JPMorgan of attacking Michael Saylor’s Strategy Michael Saylor.