Crypto and Fintech Advocacy Groups Unite to Fight Big Banks Over Open Banking Rules

A growing coalition of US crypto, fintech, and retail trade groups is pushing back against major banks’ attempts to weaken a landmark open banking ￰0￱ Takeaways: US crypto, fintech, and retail groups are urging regulators to defend against big banks’ efforts to limit open banking ￰1￱ coalition warns that data access fees and tighter definitions could weaken ￰2￱ leaders say restricting open banking would leave the country trailing behind global fintech ￰3￱ a letter sent Tuesday to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), groups including the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, National Retail Federation, and Financial Technology Association urged regulators to preserve strong consumer protections in Rule ￰4￱ rule guarantees individuals the right to access and share their own financial data with third parties like digital wallets, fintech apps, and crypto ￰5￱ Banks Push to Limit Open Banking Access, Threatening Crypto Wallet Links The coalition argues that large banks are trying to narrow who qualifies as a “consumer representative” and introduce fees for data access, a move critics say could choke off connections between the banking system and digital finance platforms such as stablecoin wallets.

“A strong open banking rule is crucial to a competitive, flourishing, and innovative financial services ecosystem,” the groups wrote. “The largest banks want to roll back open banking, weaken data sharing, and crush competition to protect their market dominance.” The CFPB finalized its version of Rule 1033 last year, requiring banks and credit unions to make consumer financial data available to authorized third parties. However, the Bank Policy Institute, which represents the country’s largest banks, sued the CFPB, claiming the rule oversteps legal bounds and jeopardizes ￰6￱ regulator later paused litigation and reopened consultations amid intense industry ￰7￱ and fintech groups say the stakes are ￰8￱ banks succeed in imposing barriers, the United States could fall behind global peers like the UK, Singapore, and Brazil, all of which have well-established open banking frameworks supporting fintech ￰9￱ coalition’s letter warns that restricting data access could not only undermine digital innovation but also limit consumers’ freedom to choose financial services tailored to their needs.

“Financial data belongs to the American people, not the nation’s largest banks,” the letter ￰10￱ leaders, including Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, also joined the discussion, arguing that Wall Street’s lobbying aims to “tax and control” users’ financial data. “This is bad for crypto and financial innovation in America,” he said in a post on ￰11￱ want to gut the Open Banking Rule (1033) so they can tax and control your financial data and remove your freedom to choose the services you ￰12￱ is bad for crypto and financial innovation in ￰13￱ is your chance to speak up by submitting a comment letter (link… — Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) October 20, 2025 Watchdog Warns Privacy Laws Are Blinding Regulators to Crypto Risks Last week, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the G20’s top financial watchdog, cautioned that strict data privacy and confidentiality laws are preventing regulators from properly monitoring the fast-growing crypto ￰14￱ its latest peer review, the FSB said fragmented national rules and divided supervisory responsibilities have made it increasingly difficult for authorities to share crucial transaction and risk data across ￰15￱ 107-page report described how these barriers create blind spots that delay cooperation and allow crypto firms to exploit regulatory loopholes by shifting operations between ￰16￱ privacy protections remain vital, the FSB warned that limited access to reliable data leaves regulators “blind” to systemic risks.