US bank pioneers crypto-friendly checking, bids farewell to traditional finance.

TLDR:

• Vast Bank, the first US banking institution to offer customers the ability to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies alongside a traditional checking account, has decided to exit the cryptocurrency industry.
• The bank received a consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in October 2023, which alleged the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound practices surrounding risk management and control, specifically in relation to its involvement in cryptocurrency.
• Vast Bank entered the crypto industry in 2019 and partnered with Coinbase and SAP on its mobile banking app.
• The bank has cited regulatory uncertainty and macroeconomic headwinds as reasons for its decision to pivot away from crypto.

Vast Bank, which claimed to be the first US bank to allow customers to have cryptocurrency in a checking account, has announced its exit from the cryptocurrency industry. The bank made the decision after receiving a consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in October 2023, which alleged unsafe or unsound practices in the bank’s involvement in cryptocurrency. Vast Bank had partnered with Coinbase and SAP on its mobile banking app. The bank cited regulatory uncertainty and macroeconomic headwinds as reasons for the decision to exit the crypto industry.