At the Consensus Miami 2026 conference, a clear shift toward regulated financial infrastructure took center stage as crypto industry leaders revealed a sharp rise in bank charter applications and deepening institutional interest in stablecoins.
During a policy summit panel, executives from federally regulated banks said crypto companies are increasingly seeking national and state bank charters to gain direct access to customer deposits, reduce borrowing costs, and escape regulatory grey zones. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has already reversed its previous anti-crypto stance, now permitting banks to engage in cryptocurrency-related activities including custody and stablecoin operations. Law firm Troutman Pepper Locke confirmed it is working on multiple applications, while World Liberty Financial’s WLTC Holdings entity applied for a national trust bank charter in January—one of the highest-profile cases to date.
The charter push follows a broader Trump-era deregulatory shift that has encouraged crypto firms to pursue full banking status. A bank license allows them to offer loans and deposit services directly, eliminating costly third-party arrangements. SoFi’s relaunch as a nationally chartered bank offering crypto trading was cited as a leading example of this trend.
Meanwhile, a separate panel with executives from MoonPay, Ripple, and Paxos highlighted that stablecoins are moving beyond mere trading tools. New legislation like the GENIUS Act has provided the regulatory clarity needed for traditional financial institutions to explore dollar-backed tokens for cross-border payments, treasury management, and settlement services. Richard Harrison, MoonPay’s VP of banking partnerships, noted that stablecoins still make up a small portion of global remittances but predicted steady adoption over the next five years as payment infrastructure improves.
Ripple SVP Jack McDonald stressed that enterprise adoption hinges on regulated products, trusted custody, and legal certainty, adding that “utility matters more than market capitalization.” Paxos engineer Brent Perrault pointed to privacy concerns on public blockchains as an unresolved challenge, while noting that competition among issuers now revolves around compliance standards and distribution partnerships—citing PayPal USD and major institutional tie-ups as evidence of expanding demand outside crypto-native circles.
