For a while, cryptocurrencies wanted to make banks look old-fashioned. Today, they want to be like them. According to several sources close to the matter interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Circle (publisher of USD Coin), Coinbase (the largest US exchange platform), and BitGo (a specialist in crypto-asset custody) plan to apply for a banking license or equivalent status. Paxos is also reportedly in the starting blocks.
Crypto and traditional finance: the new best friends?
The idea? No longer rely on traditional banks and directly offer services like deposits or loans. Some are even aiming for statuses tailored to them, such as the "industrial bank" or "trust bank" charter. And this is far from trivial: a banking license means easier access to the financial system... but also stricter rules.
One crypto player has already taken the plunge: Anchorage Digital, which obtained a federal banking charter in 2021. The outcome? "It's not easy," acknowledges its boss Nathan McCauley. The company has had to invest tens of millions to comply with the standards, and it still received a warning in 2022 for anti-money laundering flaws. Welcome to real banking life!
This crypto-banking shift isn't coming out of nowhere. With Donald Trump back in the White House, the administration is clearly pushing for greater integration of cryptocurrencies into the financial system. And this political support is already having an impact: the restrictive rules put in place after the FTX affair have been relaxed, and two texts on stablecoins are currently being examined in Congress.
Stablecoins are the big issue of the moment. These dollar-pegged digital tokens often serve as a gateway to more volatile cryptocurrencies. If properly regulated, they could become mainstream payment tools. This is precisely what Trump seems to want, to the point of supporting a family-owned stablecoin, "USD1," launched by World Liberty Financial. This token would be guaranteed by BitGo, which is also preparing to become a real bank.
But not everyone is jumping for joy. Some banking executives, like Chris Gorman (KeyCorp), are worried: the traceability of funds remains unclear, the risks of money laundering are very real, and the rules are not always clear. "We're watching it from afar, but for now, it's hard to follow," he says.
For their part, other banks are trying not to miss the boat. Bank of America is considering its own stablecoin if the law allows it. U.S. Bancorp is relaunching a crypto service with NYDIG. And even European heavyweights like Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered are keeping a close eye on the American market.
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