BitPay Applies to Become a Bank
One of the biggest and oldest bitcoin crypto payment processor has applied with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), to become a bank.
It will be named the BitPay National Trust Bank at capitalization of $12 million for 120 million shares.
“Our operations as a national trust bank will be subject to strict safety and soundness requirements, which will provide our customers with assurances that our services remain best in class and allow us to be subject to a uniform regulatory framework,” BitPay said in a statement.
Making this move somewhat peculiar because BitPay has not expanded into any other service since it launched in 2012 other than crypto payment processing.
They have been operating as such for years in compliance with full regulations, making it unclear what becoming a bank would add unless they plan to expand.
One explanation may well be they’re concerned about the Stable Act, but it looks quite unlikely that act would pass as it would be a significant step with considerable ramifications for America’s ability to compete.
Another explanation may well be they want to be on iron ground when providing crypto processing services with BitPay handling around $1 billion a year.
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