Small banks compete in different areas, Vast Bank becomes the first federally chartered bank in the United States that can buy, sell and custody cryptocurrencies

While big Wall Street banks are still weighing and exploring how to give customers indirect exposure to cryptocurrencies, Vast Bank, a small and medium-sized bank based in Oklahoma founded in 1982, has become the first federally chartered bank in the United States to provide services for buying, selling and custody of cryptocurrencies.

Public information shows that Vast Bank is a 39-year-old family business headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has been providing customers with a full range of financial services since 1982.

Vast Bank customers can now buy and sell Bitcoin directly from their FDIC-insured checking accounts, while its Bitcoin custody solution includes a mobile trading platform with instant settlement to bank accounts.

According to Forbes, Vast’s groundbreaking ability to buy, sell and custody Bitcoin within a bank was developed after receiving approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In an interview with Forbes, Vast Bank CEO Brad Scrivner hinted that a US bank is the best place to buy Bitcoin, saying: “We are familiar with regulation, we will do the right thing, and we will do something to ensure the safety and soundness of the financial system.”

Through the Vast Bank Crypto Banking app, customers will be able to purchase a range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano (Ada), Ethereum (Ether), Litecoin, Orchid and Algorand. Customers can manage their personal crypto portfolios anytime, anywhere through the mobile app, and the Vast Bank digital asset team will continuously evaluate new coins to add to the platform.

The benefits provided by the Vast Bank Crypto Banking mobile app include:

• No Lock-In: According to Chainalysis, approximately 20% of all existing Bitcoins (worth approximately $140 billion) were lost at the beginning of this year because investors forgot their wallet passwords or digital keys, or investors unexpectedly passed away without transferring the keys to their loved ones. Vast Bank acts as a custodian of its customers’ cryptocurrencies, and they can be confident that their tokens are not locked up, allowing consumers and their beneficiaries to easily access their crypto assets.
  

• Crypto Account Insurance: As a federally regulated bank, Vast Bank checking accounts are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000. Vast Bank crypto accounts are protected through co-insurance provided by Coinbase.

• No Transfer Delays: Vast Bank’s crypto banking service eliminates the pain of waiting for USD after a trade. The app deposits USD into a customer’s account instantly after they sell their crypto assets. Funds move instantly between a customer’s Vast Bank cryptocurrency account and their Vast Bank checking account, subject to the bank’s funds availability policy.

• 1.00% Crypto Trading Fee: Vast Bank offers one of the most competitive cryptocurrency trading fees for crypto accounts on its platform - 1.00%. Vast Bank crypto accounts are free of deposit fees; whereas traditional banking products are subject to various fee schedules.

• Customer Protection and Privacy: Vast Bank customers never have to worry about their data being sold or shared. Personal financial information and digital currencies stored in Vast Bank are safe and secure.

• Interest-bearing checking account: With an interest-bearing checking account, Vast Bank customers’ USD assets will never sit idle. This is the advantage of bank + cryptocurrency.

• Debit card for free ATM use nationwide: Vast Bank customers can use their debit card free of charge at ATMs nationwide through the bank’s network partners Allpoint and Transfund.

Bitpush previously reported that the OCC announced that holding a national bank trust license would allow custody of Bitcoin and other crypto assets. CEO Brad Scrivner told Forbes that after this, Vast first studied crypto custody in July 2020. After that, both the board of directors and shareholders decided to "prioritize cryptocurrency in our work."

According to Scrivner, Vast’s internal polling showed that more than 60% of its customers were interested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and “they also expressed a desire to have a bank involved in the custody of cryptocurrencies.”

In order to convince the shareholder team, Vast detailed the use cases of Bitcoin, such as near-instant final settlement and foreign exchange cross-border payments. After Vast reached a partnership with Coinbase, Coinbase referred its customers to Vast to learn about custody solutions. Vast is also currently working on allowing customers to deposit their Bitcoin into private wallets and trade with banks.

Scrivner spoke about the journey of being a small bank that wants to disrupt: "Change is not easy; however, throughout our nearly 40 years, we have embraced it and moved quickly to adapt and provide a banking experience that is both high-tech and high-touch. Vast Bank's crypto banking service is the epitome of this approach. While other banking institutions were hesitant about cryptocurrencies, we seized the opportunity to apply innovation and technology to eliminate the complexity and anxiety associated with holding crypto. We are excited to see the reaction of our customers to this new service and feel strongly that it will put cryptocurrencies on a simplified path to mass adoption."