Operation Choke Point was an Obama-era initiative that put political pressure on banks and financial institutions to deny service to out-of-favor industries. Something similar is happening again with intense pressure being exerted for banks not to service the crypto industry. On this first part of a two-episode special, NLW looks at what’s happening, as well as the key recent history of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the U.S.’ main banking regulator.  CORRECTION NOTE: At the 4:18 mark, NLW states: “At present there are two outstanding applications for licenses to operate national trust banks from Anchorage and Paxos, and these applications appear likely to be rejected by the OCC.” This was a mis-statement. Anchorage Digital is the only operational OCC-chartered digital asset bank, with their charter was approved by the OCC in January 2021. Paxos and Protego are the outstanding applications. Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M=   Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW - Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 at Consensus 2023, happening April 26-28 in Austin, Texas. Come and immerse yourself in all that Web3, crypto, blockchain and the metaverse have to offer. Use code BREAKDOWN to get 15% off your pass. Visit consensus.coindesk.com. - “The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsor today is “Foothill Blvd” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: Lusky/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.  

On today’s episode, NLW looks at the news that the U.K. has released a public consultation paper on a digital pound. While the British government hasn’t fully greenlit a U.K. central bank digital currency, the announcement argues “the Bank of England and HM Treasury judge that it is likely a digital pound will be needed in the future.” NLW also looks at progress on an Indian digital rupee as well as catches up on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday afternoon.    Enjoying this content?   SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1438693620?at=1000lSDb Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/538vuul1PuorUDwgkC8JWF?si=ddSvD-HST2e_E7wgxcjtfQ Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ubHdjcnlwdG8ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M=   Join the discussion: https://discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8   Follow on Twitter: NLW: https://twitter.com/nlw Breakdown: https://twitter.com/BreakdownNLW - Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 at Consensus 2023, happening April 26-28 in Austin, Texas. Come and immerse yourself in all that Web3, crypto, blockchain and the metaverse have to offer. Use code BREAKDOWN to get 15% off your pass. Visit consensus.coindesk.com. - “The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell and research by Scott Hill. Jared Schwartz is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. Music behind our sponsor today is “Foothill Blvd” by Sam Barsh. Image credit: Sylvain Sonnet/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.