Revolut Ditches US Bank Merger, Goes Solo for License — Crypto Expansion Now on Fast Track?
Revolut just swerved the banking establishment. Instead of merging with a US bank, the fintech giant is charging ahead for its own standalone American banking license. This pivot could turbocharge its crypto ambitions.
The Regulatory Gambit
Going solo means Revolut can build its own tech stack from the ground up—no legacy systems to slow it down. For a company that's already a crypto trading hub in Europe, a US license is the golden ticket. It unlocks direct access to dollar rails and lets them weave crypto services deeper into the core banking experience. Think instant crypto-to-fiat swaps right in your checking account.
Why This Matters for Crypto
Most traditional banks treat crypto like a risky side project. Revolut's move signals the opposite: digital assets are central to the future of finance. By controlling the entire banking pipeline, they can innovate faster—launching staking, tailored crypto portfolios, or seamless DeFi integrations without waiting for a partner's approval. It's a full-stack approach that could make crypto feel as normal as a wire transfer.
The Road Ahead
The license approval isn't a sure thing—US regulators move at their own pace, often with the urgency of a dial-up modem. But if Revolut succeeds, it creates a blueprint: a major, licensed bank where crypto isn't bolted on, but built in. That could pressure other neobanks and even legacy players to stop treating crypto as a curiosity and start treating it as a core product. After all, in modern finance, if you're not moving forward, you're just collecting fees on outdated infrastructure.
Revolut Points to Softer U.S. Regulation as It Adjusts Expansion Plans
The UK-based fintech, valued at about $75 billion following a November share sale, had spent much of 2025 exploring the purchase of a nationally chartered US bank.
An acquisition WOULD have allowed Revolut to bypass the lengthy process of applying for a banking charter from scratch and immediately gain the ability to lend across all 50 states.
As recently as July, executives believed this approach would be the quickest way to scale operations in the US.
@RevolutApp may buy a US bank with a national charter to fast-track its American expansion and bypass the lengthy process of obtaining its own licence.#Revolut #Fintechhttps://t.co/xeDYK3miuI
This perception has already changed, as the company is currently gambling that the approval process can be completed faster in the TRUMP administration since the regulatory environment has become a lot lighter than it was in the past few years.
Revolut admitted that the US is the key to its long-term growth strategy and emphasized that it wanted to have a bank in the country but noted that no final decision has been made yet and plans may change.
Revolut is “actively working with the regulator to launch the [UK] bank this year. That’s our ambition – that we’re going to launch the bank this year,” said Sid Jajodia, Revolut's CBO
Revolut “ask” regulators to be faster at making decisions.
“Anything regulators can do to… https://t.co/6AZl3CMTax pic.twitter.com/GR1J9dAbQ2
Internally, the rethink is based on fears of the purchase of a community bank being problematic, such as the necessity to use physical branches and a more complicated approval procedure for any changes in ownership.
De novo license application, which has traditionally been slow, is now considered more predictable (and consistent with the Revolut digital-first model).
National Trust Charters Emerge as Key Path for Crypto and Fintech Firms
The relocation will put Revolut on a list of increasingly popular fintech and crypto-native companies that are pursuing national charters.
The OCC itself has received approximately 13 new bank and trust license applications in 2025 alone, which is close to the number of the past four years combined.
The regulator, in December, gave conditional approval to five crypto-based companies to become national trust banks, as well as BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos, to turn current state licenses into national ones.
The OCC has conditionally approved five crypto firms, including @Circle and @Ripple, to launch national trust banks.#Ripple #Circlehttps://t.co/wCeTNrhOQZ
The US banking license would provide Revolut with greater access to the dollar clearing, custody, and compliance infrastructure, which could be valuable to its stablecoin and crypto offerings at a time when federal oversight is becoming the selling point to both institutional and retail customers.
Although national trust charters prohibit taking deposits or lending, they do provide regulatory visibility that a number of crypto companies have long been craving.
Revolut Strengthens Role as Bridge Between Banks and Crypto
Notably, Revolut has gradually developed its crypto service and established itself as a gateway between conventional finance and digital assets.
In October, the company eliminated all fees and spreads on the conversions of the US dollar into major stablecoins USDC and USDT.
Revolut launches zero-fee stablecoin swaps for its 65 million users as crypto trading drives 298% revenue growth in its wealth division.#Revolut #Stablecoinhttps://t.co/rFY9zImV4j
The volume of stablecoin payments on the platform is projected to have increased by 156% in 2025 to approximately 10.5 billion due to daily payment transactions and not because of speculative trading.
Additionally, Revolut has also increased its global growth, gaining banking licenses in Colombia and Mexico, a crypto regulatory license in Cyprus, and more than 1 billion investments in France by 2028.
It is also said to consider a dual listing in London and New York, the MOVE that would further establish its position as one of the most valuable fintechs in the world.
