Banks, fintechs navigate market's appetite for crypto amid pending regulatory guidance

From Bitcoin rewards to custody services for digital assets, banks and fintechs are carving out strategies and services tied to crypto as regulators seek to catch up with guidance.

By Anna Hrushka • Nov. 22, 2021

Fed’s Waller warns against bank-only stablecoins

"While regulations are necessary, they also limit free entry into at least some of the markets in which banks operate," Waller said. "As a result, regulatory oversight can insulate banks from some forms of direct competition."

By Robin Bradley • Nov. 18, 2021

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Artificial intelligence

Banks’ focus on AI has shifted from a “cool-toys” mentality to one that sees the technology as a foundational pillar underlying finance and society itself.

By Banking Dive staff

Ripple puts SEC on losing end in crypto regulation proposal

The company said the existing framework can be adapted to fit crypto and touted legislation that would de-emphasize the SEC's role in favor of the CFTC.

By Dan Ennis • Nov. 17, 2021

Crypto creeps into the checkout line

Payments firms are betting on crypto's growth as an asset class to fuel crypto adoption at checkout.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Nov. 10, 2021

Why Current built its core technology in-house

Curbing the need for a third-party processor helps money move faster, said the fintech's CTO, Trevor Marshall. "When I think of a checking account, I think of a parking lot," he said. "Current is about movement."

By Suman Bhattacharyya • Nov. 8, 2021

Toomey cautions against proposal to regulate stablecoin issuers as banks

"I think we have to really think long and hard before we put some onerous regulatory regime on a new technology," the Republican senator from Pennsylvania said.

By Anna Hrushka • Nov. 5, 2021

Regulators eye bank-like oversight for stablecoin issuers

Stablecoins can support beneficial payments options, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, "but the absence of appropriate oversight presents risks to users and the broader system."

By Anna Hrushka • Nov. 2, 2021

Regulators to issue policy on crypto, stablecoins, FDIC chair says

Jelena McWilliams shared details about the interagency "crypto sprint" involving the FDIC, the OCC and the Fed, and said the agencies plan to issue a series of policy statements in the coming months.

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 26, 2021

Vast Bank's new platform aims for the 'crypto curious'

"Banks for centuries have been safe keepers and custodians of what people value," said CEO Brad Scrivner. "And in today's world, that's now digital assets."

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 21, 2021

Biden's OCC pick faces a delicate balance among moderates

Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT, said he would "hold off" expressing support "until after I meet with her." One attorney said the OCC pick should "balance mitigating risk with encouraging innovation."

By Anna Hrushka • Oct. 20, 2021

Facebook's Novi launches digital currency wallet pilot

The announcement was met nearly immediately with pushback from five senators urging that the project be discontinued.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 20, 2021

Celsius, Tether and the 'known known'

Lender Celsius' admission that Tether accepts crypto tokens in exchange for stablecoins should be a bombshell. Rather, it confirms a suspicion regulators held so strongly that they've already penalized Tether for it. Twice.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 19, 2021

No profit worries? Earnings week still served up drama

BNPL, crypto, bonuses, regulatory woes and even office layout bubbled up as subplots among Wall Street's heavy hitters.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 18, 2021

Coinbase sees single regulator, new framework for crypto supervision

The approach would keep companies from having to comply with several agencies, which are adapting old laws to new tech, and help maintain the U.S.'s status as a "shaper" of oversight, Coinbase said.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 18, 2021

Andreessen Horowitz poaches 2 crypto execs from Facebook's Novi

It wouldn't be the first adversity the social network's digital currency effort has faced — nor the first time this year a pair of executives have fled an established market player in tandem for a more startup-like environment.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 12, 2021

U.S. Bank launches crypto custody service

Though limited to Bitcoin and its early spinoffs, the bank said it sees expansion to Ethereum and others eventually.

By Dan Ennis • Oct. 6, 2021

Robinhood, Revolut and PayPal play business-model musical chairs

New products have Revolut trying its hand at Robinhood's game, Robinhood looking to Coinbase, and PayPal seeing if high-yield savings a la Marcus would be a good fit.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 24, 2021

Coinbase scraps crypto lending product under fire from SEC

The company is also discontinuing its waitlist for Lend, a product that would have let users earn 4% interest by lending their holdings of a stablecoin to other customers.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 21, 2021

Coinbase reveals SEC plan to sue over lending product

Company execs ask for more clarity from the regulator amid plans to delay the interest-bearing offering until at least next month.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 8, 2021

Walmart, NYCB show 2 ways to angle for blockchain expertise

The retailer posted a job description for a crypto product lead, while New York Community Bank partnered with fintech Figure.

By Dan Ennis • Aug. 17, 2021

Circle seeks national charter to start digital currency bank

Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company intends to operate under the supervision and risk management requirements of the Fed, Treasury, the OCC and the FDIC.

By Anna Hrushka • Aug. 9, 2021

Ex-OCC chief Brooks resigns as Binance.US CEO

The former regulator, who had led the company just three months, cited "differences in strategic direction" in a Twitter post. Binance faces scrutiny from several U.S. bodies, including the CFTC, Justice Department and IRS.

By Robin Bradley • Aug. 9, 2021

Neobank MovoCash launches real-time cryptocurrency conversion

The fintech, which launched in 2017, introduced a feature that allows users to rapidly convert 10 cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin and Ethereum — into fiat money. 

By Robin Bradley • Aug. 4, 2021

Stablecoin meeting's focus finally comes to light

Tether and Diem were reportedly the focus of last week's "act-quickly" directive. The Justice Department is allegedly probing whether executives behind Tether hid from banks that transactions were linked to cryptocurrency.

By Dan Ennis • July 28, 2021

Crypto firm hires ex-CFPB chief Kraninger

She'll serve as vice president of regulatory affairs at Solidus Labs. The digital asset space has become a frequent landing spot for former regulators, including ex-Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks.

By Dan Ennis • July 23, 2021