Cryptocurrency and blockchain platform provider Circle Internet Financial Inc. is seeking to go where no crypto startup has gone before: attempting to become a legally registered bank.

In a bizarre turn of events, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Circle is seeking a federal banking license to provide more services to customers. It also intends to pursue registration as a brokerage and trading venue with the Securities and Exchange Commission, making it a legally registered merchant bank as well.

Pointing out the historical, unexpected move, the report went on to note that “no venture that began in the largely unchecked world of digital currencies has obtained such status with U.S. regulators” before.

For Circle to obtain registration, there is no shortage of hurdles along the path. The application process starts with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to investigate the proposed banking services, followed by involvement from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for the brokerage license.

Circle’s decision to register as both a broker and bank may be a move in advance of further scrutiny into cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings by the government, including the SEC. The move would also allow the company to gain access to components of the fiat-currency financial system.

“To hold reserves with the Federal Reserve, to natively access the central-banking system without intermediaries, to directly settle with other banks in other markets around the world through those networks — that can improve the efficiency of what we deliver, it can reduce the costs,” Circle Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire noted.

In addition to giving it enhanced legal protections and access, the move would also likely make Circle, as a startup, more attractive to institutional investors that have previously been wary of investing in cryptocurrency-related companies.

Circle last raised $110 million in May to bring its total raised to date to $246 million.

Image: Circle