Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, one of the earliest traditional financial investors in crypto, hopes to bring some of her company’s funds on-chain once the regulatory landscape allows companies in the U.S. to do so.

“We think tokenization is going to be huge,” Wood said at the Digital Asset Summit in New York on Tuesday. “We’d love to be able to tokenize our Venture Fund (ARKVX) or our [Digital Asset] Revolution Fund.”

“I think the regulations are starting to open up in a way that will allow us to do that. So we’d like to seize the moment,” she added.

U.S. regulators have yet to provide a clear framework and rules for registering security tokens, making it difficult for entities like Ark to launch products in the booming space that some believe could become a multi-trillion-dollar market by the end of 2030.

Executives of Coinbase, a big holding of Ark, had previously mentioned a similar outlook, although it was vague as companies are trying to make their mark in the tokenization industry.

At the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference earlier this month, Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas said that the crypto exchange is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue a security token, a move that previously failed when Coinbase attempted to go public with such a product in 2020.

Jesse Pollack, the founder of Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 network built by Coinbase, later said in a post on X that there were no “concrete plans” to tokenize Coinbase’s stock.

“We are in an exploratory phase and working to understand what needs to be unlocked from a regulatory perspective to bring assets like $COIN to @base in a safe, compliant, future looking way,” he wrote.

EOS Network, known for its scalable blockchain infrastructure, is rebranding to Vaulta as it pivots toward Web3 banking. The transition comes with a token swap that is provisionally scheduled for the end of May.

It also comes with the launch of the Vaulta Banking Advisory Council, a group of financial and blockchain industry experts focused on bridging the gap between traditional banking and decentralized systems. Members include executives from Systemic Trust, Tetra, and ATB Financial, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk.

«Vaulta’s strategic realignment towards Web3 banking is a significant development for the industry,» said Alexander Nelson, senior director of digital finance at ATB Financial. «This move not only opens the door for traditional funds to enter decentralized finance through Bitcoin but also paves the way for greater institutional acceptance.»

Vaulta plans to maintain its technical infrastructure from the EOS Network, including its smart contract architecture, decentralized database, and inter-blockchain connectivity. The platform will integrate with exSat, a Bitcoin-focused digital banking solution, as part of its Web3 banking initiative.

The project, per the release, is set to leverage various partnerships to expand its Web3 banking ecosystem, including with Ceffu, Spirit Blockchain, and Blockchain Insurance. The firm is expected to announce further strategic partnerships in the coming months.

“This transformation represents more than just a name change; it’s a decisive step forward in our mission to deliver open, accessible financial access for everyone. Vaulta is the product of years of planning, strategic development, and thoughtful design, culminating in a holistic Web3 banking approach,” said Yves La Rose, founder and CEO of Vaulta Foundation.

The team described Vaulta’s approach to Web3 banking as two-pronged, offering blockchain-based services tailored for banks and neobanks, and offering a broader financial ecosystem featuring exSat’s Bitcoin banking solutions, blockchain insurance, tokenized real-world assets, and more.

Its network has maintained uninterrupted operation for nearly seven years, emphasizing stability as a key factor in its approach, he added. Advancements in the network’s speed, security and interoperability mean the network is “now positioned for mainstream adoption.”

The rebrand comes as regulatory frameworks for digital assets, including the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), become more defined. La Rose said these developments make it the “right moment” to align Vaulta’s brand with its focus on Web3 banking.

Financial technology and crypto firms are applying for state or national bank charters, aiming to expand their business under the more crypto-friendly Trump administration as industry executives report a notable uptick in charter discussions and applications, Reuters reports.

«We have seen a lot more interest. We are working on several applications now,» Alexandra Steinberg Barrage, a partner at law firm Troutman Pepper Locke, told Reuters. However, firms are being “cautiously optimistic” as regulatory agency leadership changes unfold.

Becoming a bank brings stricter regulatory oversight, but it can reduce borrowing costs and enhance legitimacy. Bank charters allow firms to lower their cost of capital by accepting deposits, yet accessing these is a major point of contention in the crypto community.

Various cryptocurrency firms have, over time, resisted becoming banks over the regulatory oversight associated with the move, choosing instead to follow the industry’s ethos to further decentralize and improve access to financial services to unbanked or underbanked individuals.

Cryptocurrency firms, including Paxos, Anchorage, and Protego have become federally regulated crypto ‘banks’ after securing a federal trust charter through the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Kraken and Avanti have secured Special Purpose Depository Institution charts in Wyoming, making them state-regulated crypto banks.

Historically, new bank charters have been rare. Between 2010 and 2023, regulators approved an average of only five annually, compared to 144 per year from 2000 to 2007, according to S&P Global.

Applications dwindled due to low interest rates, profitability concerns, and regulatory hurdles. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Reserve officials have signaled support for streamlining the process. However, setting up a new bank remains expensive, with costs ranging from $20 million to $50 million, according to the report.

Read more: Crypto Bank Sygnum Gets Unicorn Status With $58M Round