If you are starting a crypto / blockchain business in the United States, you may have some difficulty finding a bank willing to serve your company. However, there are a few U.S. banks that will still work with you, and this article will cover five such banks that DO serve crypto company clients.
1. Silvergate Bank
With customers such as Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken, Silvergate is the most trusted and established bank serving crypto companies. Silvergate is also used as the bank for many crypto hedge funds, and it is attractive to many crypto fintech companies because it provides robust API access to banking.
Silvergate offers several specific products for crypto businesses including automation and cashflow management software for digital currency companies and integration with crypto exchanges. Real-time payments are also possible between two clients using Silvergate.
Silvergate offers two main types of business checking accounts, with details of each summarized in the table below.
| Basic Business Checking | Account Analysis Checking | |
| Best For | Smaller transaction volumes | Large transaction volumes |
| Monthly Check and/or POS Debits | 200 free, then 20¢ each thereafter | per item pricing (variable) |
| Monthly ACH Debits | 100 free, then 20¢ each thereafter | per item pricing (variable) |
| Monthly Deposit Items | 100 free, then 20¢ each thereafter | per item pricing (variable) |
| Monthly Maintenance Fee | $10 (waived if a $1500 minimum average daily balance is maintained) | $15 |
| Minimum Opening Deposit | $100 | $100 |
The Account Analysis Checking account comes with per item debit and deposit prices, but also with variable earnings credits that can partially or entirely offset these fees. Fintech companies may have additional risk-based pricing imposed. Both Account Analysis Checking accounts and Basic Business Checking accounts come with access to online and mobile banking, mobile deposits, and business debit cards.
You can find more information about Silvergate’s business checking account options here.
2. Signature Bank
Signature Bank is used by many of the most reputable crypto companies, including the stablecoin issuer TrueUSD (TUSD). They also provide banking for digital asset exchanges, OTC trading desks, crypto custody platforms, crypto mining companies, crypto lending companies, blockchain technology companies, and crypto hedge funds.
There are two main types of general business bank accounts offered by Signature, and the key details of each are summarized in the table below.
| Signature Flat Fee Business Account | Monogram Business Checking Account | |
| Best For | Smaller transaction volumes | Large transaction volumes |
| Debits / Credits / Transfers | 75 free, then 50¢ each item thereafter | 500 free, then 50¢ each item thereafter |
| Monthly Maintenance Fee | $20 | $30 (only if average available balance is below the minimum) |
| Minimum Balance | None | $25,000 |
You can find more information about Signature Bank’s business bank accounts here and you can find contact information to ask about specialty banking services for crypto, hedge funds, and venture-backed startups here.
3. Customers Bank
Customers Bank is a relatively new entrant to the U.S. crypto company banking industry. Its list of crypto company clients already includes Genesis Global Trading (a cryptocurrency prime brokerage), Blockfills (a digital asset trading platform serving over 600 institutions across 50 countries), and a few crypto exchanges.
There are two main types of business bank accounts offered by Customers Bank, with details summarized in the table below.
| Commercial Interest Checking | Commercial Interest Checking Plus | |
| Best For | Smaller transaction volumes, lower average balances, OR non-profits | Large transaction volume and balances |
| Debits & Deposits | unlimited for free | unlimited for free |
| Domestic Outgoing Wires | $20 each | $20 each |
| International Outgoing Wires | $45 each | $45 each |
| Incoming Wires | $10 each | $10 each |
| Minimum Opening Deposit | $50 | $50 |
You can find additional information about Customer Bank’s business accounts here.
4. BankProv
BankProv (previously Provident Bank before July 2020) has entered the crypto banking space after its rebranding in 2020. BankProv has 6 different types of business bank accounts, which are described here, but the two which are most practical for start-ups and small businesses are the “Classic Business” account and the “Small Business” account.
| Classic Business | Small Business | |
| Monthly Deposited Items | 50 free | unlimited for free |
| ACH items | flexible per item pricing | 50 free, then flexible per item pricing |
| Domestic Outgoing Wires | $25 each | $25 each |
| International Outgoing Wires | $35 each | $35 each |
| Incoming Wires (domestic / intl) | $10 each | $10 each |
| Monthly Maintenance Fee | None | $50 |
| Minimum Balance to Receive 50% off Monthly Maintenance Fee | N/A | $100,000 |
| Minimum Balance to Have Monthly Maintenance Fee Waived | N/A | $250,00 |
If you are starting a crypto fintech company or need to build in-house accounting systems for your business, then BankProv’s banking API will be a very useful feature for your business. You can find the API spec here.
BankProv offers more financial security than any of the other options on this list because it is not only FDIC insured but also DIF (Depositors Insurance Fund) insured, which covers any losses beyond the cap of what FDIC insures. However, the fees and accounts are tailored towards medium-sized businesses, and small businesses may find BankProv a relatively expensive banking solution.
5. Kraken Bank (Coming Soon)
Most banks in the United States are fractional reserve banks, which means that banks lend out your money and therefore can’t always deliver it to you immediately when you want to withdraw it. The state of Wyoming however has created a framework for “Special Purpose Depository Institutions” (SPDIs) which are banks that must maintain full reserves and which also may operate under digital asset specific regulations. Kraken Bank (a new affiliate of the well-known Kraken crypto exchange) is the first company to receive a Wyoming SPDI banking charter and is currently in the process of building out its banking platform.
Kraken Bank will treat both USD and cryptocurrencies as first-class citizens, and it will offer a range of payment and custody products for crypto businesses. You can find more information about Kraken Bank here.