Tyler Winklevoss Exposes JPMorgan’s Plot: Blocking Bank Data Access to Crush Crypto & Fintech Disruptors

Wall Street's old guard is playing dirty—again. Tyler Winklevoss just dropped a bombshell accusation: JPMorgan's allegedly scheming to lock down free bank data flows, a move that could strangle crypto innovators and fintech upstarts in their cribs.

The API Gatekeepers

Behind the scenes, megabanks have quietly weaponized access to customer financial data. No APIs? No competition. Winklevoss argues this isn't about security—it's about maintaining a monopoly while pretending to care about 'consumer protection.'

Startup Hunger Games

Fintechs needing real-time transaction data face an impossible choice: pay exorbitant fees to access JPMorgan's walled garden or starve. Meanwhile, crypto projects—which thrive on open systems—get pushed to the fringes. Convenient timing as Bitcoin ETFs start eating traditional finance's lunch.

The Cynical Play

Nothing says 'free market' like legacy banks using regulation as a cudgel against disruptors. Next they'll probably lobby for 'too innovative to fail' status. Winklevoss' warning? This is financial trench warfare—and the incumbents didn't get rich playing fair.

Fees could crush small fintechs and block crypto transfers

Last month, JPMorgan told fintechs it plans to charge fees every time they access a customer’s account data. That means any time someone moves money from a JPMorgan Chase account to a crypto exchange like Coinbase or Kraken, the middlemen that provide the tech, like Plaid or MX, will now have to pay up.

They’re expected to pass those charges on to their clients. In some cases, the fees could even hit consumers. Another said the fees would be higher than what their fintech had earned in an entire decade. This would require everyone to raise prices by 1000% to cover the cost. Smaller startups would no longer be able to serve customers who bank with JPMorgan.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, said JPMorgan is taking ownership of customer data and treating it like a product. “Once data becomes a revenue stream, the goal is to fragment it, lock it in, and sell it at margin,” Arjun said on X.

Tyler’s post triggered hundreds of responses on X. One user said, “Chase has been relentlessly blocking my wires to Kraken even when I go into a physical branch.” Another said, “Big banks are terrified that you might actually control your own financial data. They’d rather keep you trapped.”

Andy Barr, who said he doesn’t care about crypto, still admitted this hurts fintech. “Open Banking is a basic thing most of the world has adopted or is adopting,” he said. “Not enforcing it would just put us further behind.”

One user argued that giving Plaid or any third party your bank login credentials is a bad idea. “Remember, if it is free, you are the product,” they wrote.

Jamie Dimon wants total control, with no competition

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, made it clear during a 2021 analyst call that he doesn’t like fintechs. He told investors that traditional banks should be “scared sh**less” of startups like Plaid and that competition would be brutal for the next decade. He said he expects to win that fight, and since then, he’s been trying to make sure no one else does.

Jamie wrote in his annual shareholder letter this year that a battle with third-party aggregators was already building. He said JPMorgan is willing to share data, but only if it’s done the way they want. Customers, he said, should authorize everything.

They should also know exactly how their data is being used and when. He claimed that companies like Plaid are exploiting bank data for profit and argued that they should be forced to pay to use JPMorgan’s infrastructure.

During JPMorgan’s earnings call, Jamie added that running APIs and keeping systems secure costs real money. But not everyone buys that logic. Critics believe this is about cutting off competition, not protecting customers. Harshita Rawat, a research analyst at Bernstein, estimated JPMorgan has about 20 million checking accounts.

That’s 20 million people who could soon be blocked from using third-party apps with crypto. The bank has already told Plaid and other aggregators that fees are coming. Nobody knows the exact price tag yet.

PayPal and Block might be fine for now. Analysts think they have already worked out deals with JPMorgan that shield them from these new costs. But others say this view is too optimistic. 

KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast