Senator Lummis urges US regulators to promptly implement open banking rules to prevent large banks from blocking public access to crypto platforms.

ChainCatcher news, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming, Republican) sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Russ Vought, strongly supporting the implementation of Open Banking rules and urging regulators to "finalize the rules as soon as possible" to prevent large banks from blocking public access to digital asset platforms and other financial services for political reasons.

In the letter, Lummis pointed out that large banks abuse their financial gateway status to restrict access to financial services for industries and individuals they disagree with, including digital asset companies, firearms manufacturers, religious institutions, and even the President himself. She emphasized: "We cannot allow opponents of crypto assets to rewrite the rules, stifle innovation, and drive up costs. This will only force entrepreneurs to go overseas and weaken the United States' leadership in the fintech sector."

The Open Banking framework was first proposed by the Biden administration in 2022 and finalized in 2024, aiming to allow users to securely share financial data with third-party applications via APIs, thereby connecting bank accounts with digital asset platforms. This rule is regarded as a key infrastructure for promoting crypto adoption.

Lummis stated, "Without Open Banking rules, it is impossible to securely connect bank accounts to crypto exchanges. Especially when some bank executives, such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, openly oppose digital assets, users need even more protection." On the same day, several crypto industry organizations, including the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation, also sent letters to the CFPB, calling on regulators to clarify that "Americans own their financial data, not big banks."