TechFlow news, December 27 — According to The Information, in recent months JPMorgan Chase has frozen accounts used by at least two fast-growing stablecoin startups operating in high-risk countries such as Venezuela. The bank's actions highlight the risks that cryptocurrency-related transactions pose for banks, which must understand who they are doing business with and where funds originate.
JPMorgan froze accounts belonging to Blindpay and Kontigo, two startups funded by venture capital firm Y Combinator and focused primarily on the Latin American market. Both companies accessed JPMorgan through digital payments firm Checkbook.
These startups operate in Venezuela and other regions that present legal risks to JPMorgan due to sanctions or other restrictions.
JPMorgan stated the account freezes were not related to the nature of the businesses. "This is not about stablecoin companies," a bank spokesperson said. "We provide banking services to stablecoin issuers and firms involved with stablecoins, and we recently even facilitated the public listing of a stablecoin issuer." Beyond this, the bank declined to comment further.
