Crypto companies are racing to get federal bank charters. The federal banking regulator averaged fewer than four charter applications per year between 2011 and 2024. Since late 2025 they have received a wave of filings from crypto and fintech companies seeking federal bank charters. After the financial crisis the US government essentially stopped issuing new bank charters for almost a decade. New bank formation went from roughly 132 per year to about 6. The door was shut so the market adapted and the entire fintech industry was built around banks rather than as banks. Now everyone is converging back. For crypto companies and stablecoin issuers a federal charter means access to the Federal Reserve's payment rails and direct control over the settlement layer. For fintechs it means eliminating reliance on third-party banks entirely. What's at stake is control over the payment rails.