U.S. Digital Asset Firms Are Reportedly Considering Applying for Bank Charters and Licenses

Several U.S. digital asset firms are considering applying for bank charters and licenses, encouraged by the Trump administration's more favorable stance towards the crypto industry.

Several U.S. digital asset firms are considering applying for bank charters and licenses, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Among the digital asset firms that are contemplating acquiring the bank charters or licenses are stablecoin issuers Circle and Paxos, the report stated. Crypto exchange Coinbase and digital asset infrastructure provider Bitgo are also reportedly seeking to obtain banking licenses.

The report adds that the firms are planning to apply for the charters or licenses as they seek to take advantage of the Trump administration’s more conciliatory stance toward the digital asset industry.

Since assuming office January 20, the Trump administration has been moving to fulfill its campaign pledge to end government hostility toward the cryptocurrency industry. To achieve this, the administration has appointed known crypto advocates to key government posts.

For example, the Trump administration’s nominee for chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A Harvard Law School graduate, Atkins previously served as a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2001 to 2008.

Atkins’ confirmation, as well as that of several crypto-friendly figures, has in turn convinced crypto firms to seek bank charters or licenses two years after the collapse of FTX prompted players in the banking system to shun the digital asset industry.

According to the WSJ report, some of the digital assets firms are keen on securing national trust or industrial bank charters, which would enable them to take deposits and issue loans. Other firms are reportedly interested in obtaining a license that allows them to issue stablecoins.

Although securing a bank charter would make the firms and indeed crypto more intertwined with the banking system, such an approval entails increased scrutiny. Furthermore, complying with the attendant rules may prove costly, as Anchorage Digital, the only crypto firm issued a banking charter, found.

Besides incurring millions of dollars, Anchorage was once flagged by a banking regulator for having deficiencies in its anti-money laundering systems. Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley is quoted in the report as saying that having a bank charter has its own challenges but added that he is optimistic that regulations governing banks can be intertwined with the crypto industry.

“[The] whole gamut of regulatory and compliance obligations that banks have can be intertwined with the crypto industry,” McCauley said.