A very long, but also very good article I always remember when I hear "debanking": "Debanking (and Debunking?)" by Patrick McKenzie (patio11) [0]

> Perhaps a founder might ask a friend: “I run a legitimate business which happens to be in crypto and suddenly found my personal accounts closed. Why did this happen? I did nothing wrong.”

> Playing the odds? The bank thinks there is an unacceptable risk that you will use your personal accounts to launder money on behalf of the business (and/or its customers, etc). The bank has insufficient controls to give them an appropriate level of certainty as to whether you’re doing this or not. They are disinclined to find out the hard way, so they invite you to find another bank.

> Why do they think you might launder on behalf of the business? In part because of the extensive history of crypto companies laundering funds through the accounts of their founders and employees, specifically, and the banking industry’s highly-evidenced belief that businesses and their owners routinely commingle funds, generally.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42371476

If you have too much free time, it may be worth reading the (long) "Debanking and Debunking" essay for an exploration of all of the perverse and bizarre behaviors that result from banks' fear of AML/KYC regulatory action.

My favorite example is how banks are required to file secret "suspicious activity reports" (SARs) about their customers. Even knowing about the existence of SARs can be grounds to get a SAR written against you. How's that for thoughtcrime?

Link: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/debanking-and-debunki...

HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42371476