If a crypto firm runs what looks like a bank and operates like a bank, then it should be regulated like a bank. In the years following the 2008 financial crisis, U.S. regulators spent enormous efforts trying to reduce the risks created by "shadow banks" - financial institutions that perform bank-like functions without being subject to the same regulatory safeguards. Yet now the U.S. may be creating similar shadow banks in a new form: crypto companies operating with increasing access to the banking system - without many of the requirements applicable to traditional banks. The expansion of the crypto industry into ... (full story)