First US bank to let customers keep crypto leaves crypto industry

The American Vast Bank, the first in the United States to offer its clients tools for working with cryptocurrencies, has decided to leave the crypto industry.

Information about this appeared on the credit institution’s website. Due to the refusal to work with cryptocurrencies, the Vast Bank team closed the mobile application through which bank clients could conduct transactions with digital assets.

“To strategically align our operations, effective Wednesday, January 31st, 2024, we will be disabling and removing the Vast Crypto Mobile Banking application from Google and Apple, which means your Vast Crypto Mobile Banking account(s), including any Digital Assets held in custody, will be liquidated and closed.”

Vast Bank statement

The credit institution offered users tools for working with cryptocurrency in 2019. According to American Banker, Vast Bank could refuse to work with digital assets due to pressure from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

In September 2021, it was reported that Vast Bank became the first commercial bank to offer its clients the opportunity to make cryptocurrency transactions. The bank, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, announced the launch of a new Crypto Banking service. Vast Bank became the first federally authorized bank in the United States to offer the ability to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies directly using banks.