Kraken’s Arjun Sethi echoed these concerns, arguing that Wall Street’s approach threatens open access and innovation.
Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss has accused JPMorgan and other major banks of attempting to derail financial innovation by targeting consumer rights tied to data access.
In a June 19 post on X, Winklevoss warned that Wall Street institutions are actively working to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) “Open Banking Rule.”
The Open Banking Rule, derived from Section 1033 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, empowers consumers to access and share their financial data through third-party apps like Plaid.
However, some large banks are reportedly challenging the rule in court.
Winklevoss believes this legal battle is more than a regulatory dispute. He likened it to an attack on both consumer choice and crypto progress.
“This will bankrupt fintechs that help you link your bank accounts to crypto companies like Gemini, Coinbase, and Kraken so you can easily fund your account with fiat to buy Bitcoin and crypto,” Winklevoss stated.
He further argued that JPMorgan’s move undermines President Donald Trump’s broader goal of making the United States a global leader in crypto and financial innovation.
“Jamie Dimon and his cronies are trying to undercut President Trump’s mandate to make America the pro innovation and the crypto capital of the world. We must fight back!,” the Gemini co-founder added.
Notably, Winklevoss’ concerns have gained traction among crypto stakeholders. Pro-crypto lawmaker US Senator Cynthia Lummis reposted his comments, showing political support.
Meanwhile, Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of Kraken, had previously echoed similar fears, warning that JPMorgan’s proposed fees for data access represent a strategic power grab, not a technological upgrade
“This is not a technical innovation. It is a toll. And once data becomes a revenue stream for the infrastructure provider, the incentive is to fragment it, lock it in, and sell it at margin. This fundamentally limits what can be built on top,” Sethi stressed.
In his own post, Sethi contrasted JPMorgan’s approach with crypto networks, which he said flip the current architecture.
Instead of closed systems, public ledgers offer permissionless access, cryptographic identity, and open, composable code. Smart contracts execute transparently and evenly across the network, making data accessible to all participants.
“Access is not a business development negotiation. It is a property of the system itself. Smart contracts execute logic predictably across all users. Data lives on a ledger that is equally available to every participant. Protocols can be composed together without friction or arbitration. Builders do not need to ask for access, and users do not need to trust an intermediary to store or release their own information,” Sethi said.
Still, Sethi cautioned that crypto must remain true to its founding ethos. According to him, if the space replicates the same centralized power structures it seeks to disrupt, its transformative promise could fade.
Considering this, he urged the industry to ensure that regulatory progress does not mirror the same restrictions it seeks to escape.
