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In a move that could rearrange the fault lines between traditional finance and digital assets, LevelField Financial Inc. said Monday it has secured a crucial green light from Illinois regulators to acquire Burling Bank—pushing the firm one step closer to launching a fully insured bank built to bridge crypto and conventional banking.

Illinois Regulator Signs Off on Pivotal Step

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation granted conditional approval for LevelField to acquire Chicago-based Burling Bank, according to the announcement. The firm plans to rebrand the entity as LevelField Bank once the deal closes. One last major gate remains: final approval from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, which must authorize LevelField to become a bank holding company.

The IDFPR did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.

LevelField’s Vision: A Full-Service, Crypto-Forward FDIC Bank

LevelField aims to debut what it calls the first “full-service” FDIC-insured bank in the country to weave digital asset services directly into the traditional banking framework. The blueprint includes:

• Loans and credit cards collateralized by Bitcoin

• Credit and debit cards generating bitcoin rewards

• Crypto custody and trading services

• Payment and cash-management pipelines enabling seamless movement between fiat and digital assets

The bank is specifically targeting markets considered “underbanked,” especially businesses and sectors in the digital-asset economy that have struggled to find compliant, stable financial channels.

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is advising LevelField on the Burling Bank acquisition.

CEO: An “Important Milestone” for Crypto-Integrated Banking

CEO Gene A. Grant II said the Illinois approval marks an essential turning point for a firm seeking to serve both Bitcoin users and high-growth digital-asset industries.

“We’re among the first full-service FDIC-insured banks to receive approval to offer digital asset banking services,” Grant said, adding that LevelField intends to deliver true 24/7 real-time banking, including for historically underserved businesses.

The Competitive Landscape: SoFi, OCC Trust Charters, and Industry Tension

LevelField enters an increasingly crowded frontier. SoFi Bank launched crypto trading last week, declaring itself the first and only nationally chartered, FDIC-insured bank to provide an integrated crypto “one-stop shop.”

Meanwhile, numerous crypto companies have turned to OCC trust charters to tap U.S. payment rails without navigating state-by-state licensing, though these charters offer narrower capabilities and do not equate to full-service banking authority.

Traditional banks, wary of potential systemic risks, have pushed back on crypto firms’ charter requests—while crypto advocates argue that expanding entry to the banking sector will boost competition and innovation.

Legal Team Steering the Deal

LevelField Financial is represented by a Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP team led by Carl Gross, Sumaira Shaikh and Peter Weinstock.