Forbes: Easing US regulations drive crypto firms to vie for banking licenses and undergo "licensed banking transformation".

As the US regulatory environment gradually loosens, the fintech industry is accelerating its transformation towards "licensed banking." Last year, the approval process for trust bank licenses accelerated significantly. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved the applications for national trust bank licenses from five companies, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. It is understood that possessing a banking license is also seen as an important means of hedging against capital market volatility. Industry insiders believe that the era of fintech companies merely serving as front-end channels for traditional banks is ending. More and more digital finance and crypto institutions are directly seeking banking licenses. By accepting deposits and connecting to the federal payment system, crypto companies can obtain more stable and lower-cost funding sources. (Forbes)