Circle Internet Financial Ltd. is seeking a banking license in the US, reported Coindesk on June 6.
Circle is currently offering various services, including a cryptocurrency wallet and investment platform, and an OTC crypto trading service. With this move, the Goldman Sachs-backed firm want a banking license in the US as well as registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a brokerage and trading platform.
If the SEC accepts Circle and it is granted a banking license, the startup would be allowed to trade cryptocurrency tokens that are securities in the US. It would also be helpful for the company to avoid the complexities of registering as a cryptocurrency firm with regulators in all the US states.
“You’re able to have a single conversation,” Robert Bench, Circle’s chief compliance officer, mentioned. “It’s hard to have 50 conversations.”
Circle expressed that it would seek SEC regulations first and that it would apply afterward for the banking license.
Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire expressed,
“To hold reserves with the Federal Reserve, … to directly settle with other banks in other markets around the world through those networks – that can improve the efficiency of what we deliver, it can reduce the costs.”
He also mentioned that the firm would also help regulators with the regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency as Wall Street giants are starting slowly to adopt it.
Circle has acquired Poloniex exchange near the end of last February. In March, BitLicense allowed Circle to established in 46 US states.
“With no minimums, instant deposits, no commissions on a variety of coins, performance tracking and more — we’ve made it fast, cheap and simple to invest in crypto and digital assets, and we are only just getting started,” Allaire said at the time.
Recently, Circle has raised $110 million in an investment round for a token backed by the US dollar and has launched the full version of its cryptocurrency app.