Peer-to-peer crypto payments platform Metal Pay has filed to become a national bank in the U.S. The startup filed a charter application for “First Blockchain Bank and Trust, N.A.” with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Feb. 3, CEO Marshall Hayner told CoinDesk. Its trust company would be incorporated in Rapid City, S.D. Metal Pay will shortly file applications with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Hayner said. Favorable crypto banking guidance has sparked an inflow of industry charter applications in the past two months, with Paxos, ... (full story)