Key Highlights
- LevelField Financial received conditional approval to acquire Burling Bank and expand its crypto banking.
- The acquired bank will be renamed LevelField Bank and offer both traditional and cryptocurrency services.
- The firm is reported to pay up to $70 million and plans to hire more staff, with new banking products.
LevelField Financial Inc., a U.S. financial services firm, announced that it has received conditional approval from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to acquire Chicago-based Burling Bank.
The approval allows the firm to create a full-service, FDIC-insured bank that will offer traditional banking services and cryptocurrency services, once it gets the green signal from the Federal Reserve.
Bringing traditional banking and crypto together
According to the official announcement, the bank will be renamed LevelField Bank after the deal is completed. The bank will provide savings and checking accounts, loans, and credit cards secured by digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH). Customers will also be able to trade and hold cryptocurrencies directly through the bank. The bank will serve both individuals and businesses, including sectors that have been underbanked in the past.
LevelField is reportedly in talks with card networks to provide credit and debit cards with rewards in Bitcoin or Ethereum. “LevelField Bank was designed to meet the needs of the Bitcoin and digital asset community. We’re among the first full-service FDIC-insured banks to offer digital asset banking services,” CEO Gene Grant II said in the release.
Details for the deal and future plans
According to a report, the company may pay up to $70 million to buy Burling Bank. This is LevelField’s second attempt to buy the bank. The company first tried in early 2023 but later withdrew the proposal after the collapse of crypto-friendly banks Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank. They resumed efforts in December 2024 following regulatory and political developments favoring digital assets.
Currently, both LevelField and Burling Bank have about 20 employees. If the deal goes through, the bank plans to hire around 100 more people in the first year. LevelField is represented by Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as its legal advisor and 3V Capital Partners as its financial advisor.
LevelField Bank will continue Burling’s community banking foundation while adding cryptocurrency services. The bank will offer 24/7 access and real-time payments.
Why It Matters
This deal is another trend of how traditional banking and the crypto space are slowly coming together in a regulated way. The approval is a key step in LevelField’s plan to combine these two sectors. If it’s finalized, the bank will offer customers a more secure, insured banking experience along with new products and services from crypto users across the United States.
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