4 takeaways from Michael Barr’s DC Fintech Week speech

The Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision stressed caution with banks’ ties to crypto and spotlighted what sets stablecoins apart from other digital assets.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 13, 2022

Gen Z neobank Step launches crypto investing, rewards

The fintech, which claims to have more than 3 million customer accounts, said it is partnering with digital assets infrastructure and regulatory platform Zero Hash to offer transaction and custody services.

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 12, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

Banks are enthusiastic about AI’s promises. But can they get customers on board, and will regulators let the innovation happen?

By Banking Dive staff

Crypto exchange Bittrex to pay $29M to settle AML, sanctions charges

The exchange failed to file any suspicious activity reports for more than three years and allowed customers in Syria, Sudan, Iran, Cuba and the Crimea to make tens of thousands of transactions, two Treasury offices said Tuesday.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 12, 2022

BNY Mellon set to take clients’ crypto

The move comes more than a year and a half after the bank laid out its intention to hold, transfer and issue digital assets. It received NYDFS approval within the past month.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 11, 2022

OCC wants more data on banks’ crypto-related activities

Banks are already required to seek the OCC’s non-objection before engaging in crypto activity. But further enhancements may be needed “to track the risk of cross-contagion,” Acting Comptroller Michael Hsu said.

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 11, 2022

Celsius co-founder Leon follows Mashinsky out

The crypto lending firm’s chief strategy officer, Shlomi Daniel Leon, has left the company, shortly after fellow co-founder Alex Mashinsky, joining a growing list of recently departed crypto executives.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Oct. 5, 2022

Inside Stash’s crypto-winter gamble

The investment app expands access to digital assets, spotlighting a long-term view of the currencies, in the platform's first offering on a new core system.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Oct. 5, 2022

Crypto bank Anchorage pushes into Asia

Anchorage Digital, valued over $3 billion, established six partnerships across Asia, including in Singapore and Thailand.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Oct. 5, 2022

FSOC wants legislation to fill crypto sector oversight gaps

The panel wants regulators to work in tandem to issue rules that would help prevent regulatory arbitrage in the sector.

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 4, 2022

Digital banks, credit unions should factor into merger reviews: Fed’s Bowman

Potential combinations should hinge on risk analysis, not deposit market share, in an update to 1995 guidelines, the central bank governor said Wednesday.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 29, 2022

Celsius CEO, FTX US president resign

Mashinsky’s departure comes amid bankruptcy proceedings his company initiated in July. Harrison’s resignation comes one day after FTX US won the bid to buy Voyager Digital’s assets for $1.4 billion.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 28, 2022

FTX wins bid to buy Voyager’s assets for $1.42B

The deal comes two months after the crypto brokerage accused FTX’s billionaire owner of trying to subvert its bankruptcy process by offering early liquidity to Voyager customers.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 27, 2022

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell steps aside, as COO takes the reins

The crypto exchange’s top executive raised ire over a culture document that addressed preferred pronouns, diversity-focused hiring and abortion. He told Fortune he had “grown tired of long hours and day-to-day management tasks.”

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Sept. 22, 2022

Biden administration releases digital asset regulation framework

The Biden administration wants the SEC and the CFTC to “aggressively pursue investigations and enforcement actions against unlawful practices in the digital assets space.”

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 16, 2022

Majority raises $37M as neobank expands immigrant outreach

The neobank, which declined to share its current valuation or number of users, has raised $83.5 million to date.

By Anna Hrushka • Sept. 14, 2022

Gensler: Securities laws cover ‘vast majority’ of crypto tokens

The SEC chief signaled he would cooperate with the CFTC to the extent that “it needs greater authorities with which to oversee and regulate crypto non-security tokens.”

By Maura Webber Sadovi • Sept. 8, 2022

Hawaii’s Central Pacific Bank embraces BaaS to gather mainland deposits

“We could be business as usual, and continue focusing on traditional community banking in Hawaii,” the bank’s CFO said. “We chose to participate in the disruption."

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 31, 2022

Trade groups clap back at Warren’s call to rescind crypto guidance

The crypto winter is "wholly unrelated" to banks’ involvement in OCC-approved activities, the Bank Policy Institute and the American Bankers Association wrote. But further clarity is crucial.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • Aug. 31, 2022

FDIC orders FTX, 4 other crypto firms to halt ‘false and misleading’ claims

Brett Harrison, FTX’s president, responded on Twitter, saying the company “really didn’t mean to mislead anyone.” The FDIC cited a deleted tweet from Harrison in its letter to the company.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 22, 2022

Toomey grills FDIC on potential overreach in bank-crypto ties

The Pennsylvania Republican asked for more information about reports that employees from the agency’s headquarters asked regional staff to send letters to banks discouraging their relationships with crypto companies.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 18, 2022

Fed puts onus on banks to check legality of crypto ventures

Like the FDIC, the central bank urges banks to notify the regulator before starting crypto activity. But unlike the OCC, the Fed doesn't detail what is permissible under law.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 17, 2022

Green Dot is locked in Uber contract dispute, loses other clients

“I don't want to be out there opening up our [bank] charter for every Joe fintech that wants to do something in payments,” Green Dot CEO Dan Henry said last week on a call with analysts.

By Lynne Marek • Aug. 11, 2022

Warren asks OCC to scrap Trump-era crypto guidance — and recent work

The OCC, FDIC and Fed said in November they planned to provide more clarity this year on permissible digital asset activity. A letter from the senator last week challenges the agencies to follow through.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 8, 2022

Senate bill would couch Bitcoin, Ether under CFTC purview

The bill would define a new asset class, exclude securities from it, and require brokers, custodians, dealers and trading facilities to register with the CFTC.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 3, 2022

NY regulator fines Robinhood $30M over AML, cybersecurity failures

The company Tuesday also cut its workforce by 23%, or roughly 780 employees, and announced it would be closing two offices, according to a filing.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 2, 2022