Relaxed US regulations drive fintech bankification, with crypto firms accelerating their race for banking licenses

Mars Finance reports that as the regulatory environment in the United States gradually relaxes, the fintech industry is accelerating its transition to “licensed banking.” Last year, the approval process for trust bank licenses significantly sped up, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has approved conditional applications for national trust bank licenses for five companies including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. It is understood that holding a banking license is also seen as an important means to hedge against capital market fluctuations. Industry insiders believe that the era of fintech companies serving only as front-end channels for traditional banks is coming to an end. More and more digital finance and crypto institutions are directly seeking banking licenses, which allow them to accept deposits and connect to the federal payment system, providing crypto companies with a more stable and low-cost source of funding.