banking

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stated during an interview with Bloomberg at the World Liberty Financial Forum: "Binance wants to conduct more business in the United States and aims to bring excellent products to the U.S., making it easier for American consumers to access these high-quality products."In the interview, CZ revealed that after the SEC lawsuit was filed in the U.S. in 2023, Binance.US lost a significant number of banking channels and market share, facing numerous obstacles. However, the lawsuit was dismissed last year under the leadership of SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who was appointed by Trump. With a more favorable regulatory environment emerging, previously unattainable options, including deeper banking relationships and even seeking a banking license, are now "completely possible," but he emphasized that any such initiatives would depend on the right team and legal guidance.

Strategy CEO Phong Le posted on platform X, stating that the Basel Accords set global banking capital standards and asset risk-weighting rules, which substantially affect how banks engage in digital asset-related businesses (including Bitcoin). This framework is established by the Basel Committee, which covers 28 jurisdictions and is composed of central banks and regulatory authorities from various countries, with the United States being one of them. If the U.S. wishes to become the "global crypto capital," it is necessary to reassess the implementation of capital requirements and risk weights under the Basel framework.

According to Barchart, the Federal Reserve injected $18.5 billion into the U.S. banking system this week through overnight repos, marking the fourth largest liquidity injection since the COVID-19 pandemic, even surpassing the peak of the dot-com bubble.The chart shows that the peaks of liquidity injections since 2021 mainly occurred during the pandemic and periods of economic stress. This injection reflects tight bank reserves, which may stem from quarter-end funding demands or broader credit tightening.

According to Cointelegraph, the digital asset division of the French banking group Societe Generale, SG-FORGE, has expanded its euro-pegged stablecoin EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) to the XRP Ledger. This makes it the third blockchain deployment for the token, following Ethereum and Solana, utilizing Ripple's custody infrastructure and potentially integrating into Ripple products as collateral for trading.The stablecoin is backed 1:1 by bank cash deposits or high-quality securities, with a current circulation of approximately 70.51 million tokens. It aims to enhance institutional access to euro-backed tokens and comply with the EU's MiCA regulations. This move stems from SWIFT's pilot testing of EUR CoinVertible for tokenized bond exchanges and settlements, promoting the development of euro stablecoins to counter the dominance of the dollar.

According to CoinDesk, Italian banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed in its 13F filing for the period ending December 2025 that it holds approximately $96 million in Bitcoin spot ETFs, including the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and the iShares Bitcoin Trust.At the same time, Intesa Sanpaolo also holds a large put option position against Strategy, which the market interprets as a hedge against the Strategy stock price being too high relative to its Bitcoin asset value (mNAV) while being long on Bitcoin ETFs.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) submitted a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), urging a slowdown in the approval process for cryptocurrency companies' bank charter applications. The ABA warned that approving these applications before Congress completes the relevant regulatory framework could pose risks to the financial system. Currently, several cryptocurrency companies, including Circle, Ripple, and Coinbase, are applying for or have already obtained OCC trust bank charters.The banking industry is concerned that this will allow cryptocurrency companies to bypass the traditional banking intermediary layer and directly access the Federal Reserve payment system.

Beast Industries announced that it has acquired the mobile banking app Step, aimed at teenagers and young adults, to enhance its presence in the financial services sector. Step currently has over 7 million users and has raised approximately $500 million from investors such as Stephen Curry and Justin Timberlake.Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold stated that this acquisition will leverage technology-driven solutions to improve the financial health of its audience. Previously, Ethereum warehouse company BitMine Immersion Technologies invested $200 million in Beast Industries in January, and both parties are exploring the integration of DeFi features into the financial platform. Additionally, Beast Holdings filed a trademark application for MrBeast Financial in October, covering businesses such as cryptocurrency trading and payment processing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, crypto-friendly bank Erebor Bank has become the first newly established bank to receive a national banking charter during Trump's second term.The bank has a startup capital of $635 million and aims to fill the market gap left by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Previously, it was reported that U.S. regulators approved the launch of the billionaire-backed new bank "Erebor."

According to the Wall Street Journal, the crypto-friendly bank Erebor Bank has become the first newly established bank to receive a national banking charter during Trump's second term. A spokesperson for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which oversees national bank charters, has confirmed the approval of Erebor Bank's charter application.

According to The Block, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis called for the banking industry to embrace stablecoins and digital assets during an interview, believing that this will bring new product opportunities for traditional financial institutions.She pointed out that stablecoins can significantly reduce settlement times and costs, thereby greatly enhancing the efficiency of domestic and international transactions. Providing custody and payment services for this will open up more business possibilities for banks. Lummis currently serves as the chair of the Senate Digital Assets Subcommittee.She emphasized that she does not understand why the banking industry resists digital assets, as this actually provides banks with new financial products to offer to customers. The current disagreement between banks and the cryptocurrency industry over stablecoin yield terms remains a key factor delaying the passage of the U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill.

According to Forbes, as the regulatory environment in the United States gradually relaxes, the fintech industry is accelerating its transformation towards "licensed banking." Last year, the approval process for trust bank licenses significantly sped up, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approving conditional applications for national trust bank licenses for five companies, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. It is reported that having a banking license is also seen as an important means to hedge against fluctuations in the capital markets.Industry insiders believe that the era of fintech companies merely serving as front-end channels for traditional banks is coming to an end. An increasing number of digital finance and crypto institutions are beginning to directly seek banking licenses. By accepting custodial deposits and connecting to the federal payment system, crypto companies can obtain a more stable and lower-cost source of funding.

According to CoinDesk, Spain's second-largest bank BBVA has announced its membership in Qivalis, becoming the 12th member bank of the Amsterdam-based stablecoin project.Qivalis aims to launch a euro-pegged regulated stablecoin, providing digital euro payment and settlement options for the EU market while challenging the dominance of dollar stablecoins. Current members of the project include major EU banks such as BNP Paribas, ING, and UniCredit, with the goal of issuing stablecoins through a banking network to provide payment channels for businesses and consumers without relying on third parties outside of blockchain or traditional financial systems.Currently, the global stablecoin market is approximately $300 billion, with only $860 million pegged to a single euro. Dollar stablecoins still dominate: Tether's USDT has a market cap of about $185 billion, while Circle Internet's USDC has a market cap of about $70 billion.

Standard Chartered Bank analyst Geoffrey Kendrick warned that by the end of 2028, approximately $500 billion will flow out of developed market banks in the U.S., and another $1 trillion will flow out of emerging market banks, primarily due to stablecoins offering instant settlement, round-the-clock operation, and yields superior to traditional savings accounts.The report highlights four major risks: 1. Net Interest Margin (NIM) is under pressure, with U.S. regional banks being the most vulnerable, as NIM accounts for 80% of total revenue; 2. Stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle hold only 0.02% and 14.5% of reserves in banks, with the remainder invested in U.S. Treasuries and money market funds, leading to nearly all funds flowing out of the banking system; 3. Over 95% of stablecoins are denominated in U.S. dollars, putting U.S. banks at the forefront; 4. Banks need to borrow from institutional investors at higher costs to replace retail deposits. Kendrick stated that stablecoins are the first significant disruptor in the financial market based on blockchain technology.

According to market news, Nomura Securities' digital asset subsidiary Laser Digital has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter. If approved, the charter will allow Laser Digital to operate nationwide without the need to apply for custody licenses on a state-by-state basis, although the business will not involve accepting retail deposits. It is reported that the company also plans to offer spot cryptocurrency trading services.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) stated that the review process for the Trump family's cryptocurrency project WLFI's application for a banking license will not be affected by any political or personal financial relationships. Anti-cryptocurrency Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for a suspension of WLFI's national trust bank license application unless the Trump family sells its stake in WLFI, which the OCC has rejected.OCC's Auditor Jonathan Gould stated in a letter responding to Warren, "The OCC intends to fulfill this review responsibility rather than accommodate your request."For a long time, cryptocurrency companies have found it difficult to obtain a national trust bank license in the United States. However, a breakthrough was achieved last December when the OCC conditionally approved five digital asset firms—Ripple, Circle, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets—to transition to federally chartered national trust banks.

The founder of Spring Capital, Hu Zuliu, shared the stage with Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026. In response to Hu Zuliu's concerns about the systemic risks that generative AI may provoke, CZ stated that the root of financial risk does not lie in technology, but in the underlying flaws of the traditional banking system. If the financial system itself is healthy, more efficient and cheaper technologies will always bring more benefits than drawbacks.CZ also pointed out that the real risk lies in the traditional banking "Fractional Reserve System." Under this system, when banks face liquidity pressure, the technical convenience of withdrawals will only reveal the truth of their insufficient funds, and "slowing down withdrawals" does not address the fundamental issue.

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, Zhao Changpeng stated that technology itself does not bring risks, but rather accelerates the exposure of existing problems, pointing out that the root of the banking liquidity crisis lies in the "fractional reserve system." He cited Binance as an example, stating that the platform once handled withdrawals of up to $7 billion in a single day, with no overall pressure.Zhao Changpeng predicted that with the maturity of blockchain and KYC technology, the number of physical bank branches will significantly decrease in the next decade. At the same time, he expressed reservations about direct payments in Bitcoin and Meme coins, believing that Meme coins are highly speculative, and the vast majority will struggle to last, with only a few like Dogecoin potentially enduring due to their cultural value.

UBS Group CEO Sergio Ermotti stated this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: Blockchain is the future of traditional banking, and the two will merge.In 2018, he mentioned that blockchain is almost a prerequisite for companies to remain competitive, and now asserts that the merger is inevitable. He predicted at that time that blockchain would change the industry's cost structure within 5-10 years, and that timeline is approaching.Ermotti's remarks align with those of Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson. Johnson criticized traditional financial underlying technologies as primitive and concerning last December, stating that the existing systems are built on a complex network of reconciliation processes based on primitive technologies.

According to Bloomberg, UK fintech giant Revolut Ltd. has applied for a full banking license in Peru, marking the company's official entry into the Latin American market expansion plan, where it will compete directly with major fintech companies in the region.

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, signed decree No. 19 to establish a framework for "crypto banks." According to a statement from the Belarusian presidential office, the decree allows joint-stock companies located in the country's High-Tech Park (HTP) to combine token operations with traditional banking, payment, and other financial services. It defines a crypto bank as a joint-stock company authorized to conduct such combined operations, which must be subject to dual regulation by the HTP and the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. Entities must have resident status in the High-Tech Park and be listed in a specialized register of crypto banks maintained by the country's central bank.