JPMorgan Chase has formally admitted in court filings that it closed bank accounts belonging to former President Donald Trump and his businesses in February 2021. The admission, made by the bank's former chief administrative officer Dan Wilkening, marks the first on-record confirmation of the closures, which occurred weeks after the January 6 Capitol attack. Letters sent to Trump on February 19, 2021, did not provide a specific reason, stating only that the bank may decide a client's interests are "no longer served" by continuing the relationship.
In late January, Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan and its CEO Jamie Dimon, accusing the bank of closing the accounts for political reasons and placing his family on a reputational "blacklist." Trump's legal team called the court admission a "devastating concession," alleging the bank "unlawfully and intentionally" debanked the former president. JPMorgan has pushed back, with spokeswoman Trish Wexler stating the lawsuit "has no merit" and that accounts are closed based on legal or regulatory risk, not political motives.
The account closures had a direct impact on the Trump family's financial strategy, leading them toward cryptocurrency. Eric Trump has publicly stated that being "debanked"—including having 300 accounts with Capital One closed—sparked his interest in crypto. This experience directly led to the creation of World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family's crypto platform, which has since launched a stablecoin with a reported value of $3.4 billion. The family has framed crypto as an alternative to what they call the "weaponization" of traditional banking, and President Trump has advocated for crypto-friendly regulation during his second term.
The legal battle continues as JPMorgan has filed a motion to move the lawsuit from a Miami federal court to New York, arguing the dispute has stronger ties there. The newly disclosed letters are now part of the active case.
