Banking

Circle, BitGo, Coinbase Pursue US Bank Charters Under Trump's Pro-Crypto Agenda

| Importance: 8/10

Circle, Paxos, BitGo, and Coinbase are preparing to apply for national bank charters or trust bank licenses, reflecting the Trump administration’s aggressive pro-cryptocurrency stance. This move represents a significant shift in crypto firms’ strategy, seeking deeper integration with the …

Donald Trump Trump Administration Circle Internet Financial BitGo Inc. Coinbase +1 more crypto banking trump-administration financial-regulation financial-capture
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FDIC says banks can engage in crypto activities without prior approval

| Importance: 8/10

The FDIC issued Financial Institution Letter (FIL-7-2025) on March 28, 2025, removing prior approval requirements for banks’ crypto-related activities. Acting Chairman Travis Hill announced a significant policy shift, allowing FDIC-supervised institutions to engage in crypto-related activities …

Donald Trump Travis Hill Trump Administration FDIC crypto financial-regulation banking trump-administration
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FinCEN Files Reveal $2 Trillion in Suspicious Banking Transactions

| Importance: 9/10

On September 20, 2020, BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the FinCEN Files, exposing over $2 trillion in suspicious financial transactions between 1999 and 2017. The investigation, involving 2,657 leaked documents and 2,121 suspicious …

FinCEN BuzzFeed News International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Jason Leopold Deutsche Bank +7 more money-laundering banking financial-crime regulatory-failure suspicious-transactions +4 more
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FinCEN Files Reveal $2 Trillion in Suspicious Banking Transactions

| Importance: 9/10

BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the FinCEN Files, revealing more than $2 trillion in suspicious banking transactions reported to the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network between 1999 and 2017. The files contained over 2,100 Suspicious …

FinCEN BuzzFeed News International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Deutsche Bank HSBC +4 more money-laundering banking financial-crime regulatory-failure suspicious-transactions +2 more
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'FinCEN Files' leak reveals banks flagged >$2T in suspicious transactions; U.S. warns SAR disclosures are unlawful

| Importance: 8/10

The ICIJ/BuzzFeed ‘FinCEN Files’ exposed a massive global banking corruption investigation, revealing over $2 trillion in suspicious financial transactions across 200+ banks between 1999-2017. The leaked 2,657 documents, including 2,121 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), showed systemic …

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) BuzzFeed News (original partner) Deutsche Bank HSBC +3 more money-laundering banking transparency financial-crime international-corruption
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Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) Founded

| Importance: 8/10

Agha Hasan Abedi established the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in Luxembourg, creating an international bank with initial capital from Bank of America and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. BCCI rapidly expanded to become the seventh-largest private bank in the world before being …

Agha Hasan Abedi Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Bank of America banking financial-crime international-banking money-laundering regulatory-capture
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