U.S. Regulatory Environment Prompts Fintech Shift Towards Licensed Banking

The U.S. regulatory landscape is gradually opening up, prompting a shift in the fintech industry towards licensed banking transformation. According to Odaily, last year saw a noticeable acceleration in the approval of trust bank licenses. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has conditionally approved national trust bank licenses for five companies, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. Holding a banking license is considered a crucial strategy for hedging against capital market volatility. Industry experts believe that the era of fintech companies merely serving as front-end channels for traditional banks is coming to an end. Increasingly, digital finance and crypto institutions are directly seeking banking licenses. By acquiring the ability to accept deposits and connect to the federal payment system, crypto companies can access more stable and cost-effective funding sources.