Old Glory Bank's Next-Gen Banking Webinar

We believe we will be one of the first financial institutions to unite crypto with daily banking. 

Hosted on October 29, our Chief Innovation Officer, Michael Staw, and President and CEO, Mike Ring, shared about our plans to offer our customers the ability to manage their crypto and stablecoins, a self-custodial wallet, and their traditional bank accounts within a single dashboard. 

Please watch and share this page with your friends and colleagues who are as excited as we are about the next generation. 

Webinar guests had the opportunity to ask their questions about our next generation of banking. We are working on those answers for you and will add them to this page as soon as possible!

Freedom to Choose

At Old Glory Bank, we see the evolution of banking – the incorporation of cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and self-custodial wallets – as the culmination of everything we have been working for: your Privacy, Security, and Liberty in banking. 

Your freedom to choose between traditional banking and legacy currency, and digital currency is part of that autonomy. Many of you have been eager for this merger of old and new, and it's finally here. 

Others of you have no interest in crypto and digital currency, and that's ok, too. We will continue to offer both, so that your liberty is protected. We stand with you.

Devices showing OGB's Crypto Dashboard
Crypto Demo Thumbnail

Watch the Demo

We believe Old Glory Bank will be the first bank to easily link your crypto, stablecoins, and self-custodial wallet into a single dashboard, combined with your OGB Accounts. Once linked, you can easily “on-ramp” and “off-ramp” US Dollars (fiat) with popular crypto coins, creating a seamless experience to spend fiat and crypto every day.

OGB Customers will be able to use our new stablecoin, OGBUSD, for payments and remittances around the world. Recipients can hold it, spend it, exchange it for U.S. dollars at Old Glory Bank, or convert it on any exchange supporting ERC-20 standard tokens.

OGBUSD will be backed by US Dollars, 1 to 1, so you will always know the value and buying power.

Cryptocurrency 101: Terms to Know

Crypto fans and experts, you can skip to the next section.

If you are just learning about crypto, you might find this glossary helpful.

Cryptocurrency

A type of digital money. Unlike dollars, it doesn’t exist in physical form and isn’t controlled by a government or bank. Instead, it’s powered by blockchain technology.

Popular cryptocurrencies include:

  • Bitcoin (BTC) – the first and most well-known
  • Ethereum (ETH) – used for smart contracts and NFTs
  • Solana, Cardano, Dogecoin – other coins with different purposes

You can use crypto to buy things, invest, or even support creators online.

Stablecoin

A type of digital currency that is pegged to the value of a stable asset, such as a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar. Its purpose is to combine the benefits of cryptocurrency, like fast, borderless transactions, with the price stability of traditional money. 

Old Glory Bank plans to mint our own stablecoin, OGBUSD, with the release of our crypto features in early 2026.

Fiat

Government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical commodity, like gold or silver, but rather by the government's declaration that it has value. Examples include the U.S. dollar (USD) or euro (EUR). 

When used in digital finance, fiat currency typically refers to traditional money that can be transferred electronically, such as through bank apps, payment platforms, or converted into stablecoins. 

Key

A crypto key is a fundamental part of how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology work. It's a piece of cryptographic information used to secure, access, and control digital assets. 

A private key is a string of letters and numbers used to sign transactions and prove ownership of a crypto wallet. It must be kept secure and never shared - sharing your private key is like handing your actual physical wallet to a crook and inviting them to clean out your cash. 

A public key is derived from your private key using cryptographic algorithms. It can be shared with others safely, often to allow you to receive cryptocurrency. 

Think of your public key as your email address (you can share it) and your private key as your email password and PIN (you must keep it secret). 

Gas

In cryptocurrency, gas refers to the fee required to perform a transaction or execute a smart contract on a blockchain network. The gas fee is the amount of cryptocurrency you must pay to process your transaction. The amount of gas required depends on the complexity of the transactions, the congestion of the network, and the price of the gas itself. 

Blockchain

A digital ledger – a record of transactions – that is:

  • Decentralized: No single person or company controls it
  • Transparent: Everyone can see the history of transactions (but not your identity)
  • Secure: Once something is written, it can’t be changed

Blockchain works by keeping the record of transactions across a decentralized and encrypted network of computers, so the data is secure, verified, and permanent. 

Token

A digital asset issued on a blockchain. This can represent currency, ownership, or access rights. 

On-ramp and off-ramp

In the context of cryptocurrency, on-ramps and off-ramps refer to the services and platforms that allow users to move between traditional currencies ("fiat" such as US dollars) and digital assets (like Bitcoin or Ethereum). 

An on-ramp is a service that lets you buy cryptocurrency using fiat currency. It's your entry point into the crypto world. An off-ramp is a service that lets you convert cryptocurrency back into fiat currency. 

DeFi

Short for Decentralized Finance, DeFi refers to a movement within the cryptocurrency space that aims to recreate and improve traditional financial systems – like lending, borrowing, trading, and investing – using blockchain technology and smart contracts, without relying on centralized institutions. 

Key features: 

  • No intermediaries: Transactions are peer-to-peer, governed by code instead of companies or governments.
  • Smart Contracts: Automated agreements that execute when predefined conditions are met, such as a transaction or event.
  • Open Access: Anyone with a crypto wallet can participate without credit checks or paperwork.
  • Transparency: All transactions are recorded on public blockchains. Your identity is private, but your transaction is recorded and verified.

Self-Custodial Wallet

Also known as a non-custodial wallet, this is a type of cryptocurrency wallet that gives users full control over their private keys and digital assets stored on a blockchain network. 

Unlike custodial wallets, such as those offered by and controlled by crypto exchanges, no third party holds your keys. This means that only you can access and manage your funds. Self-custodial wallets typically do not require you to share your personal data, so your privacy is protected. With direct blockchain access, you can interact directly with decentralized applications and platforms ("DeFi"). 

Smart Contract

A self-executing program stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement when predefined conditions are met. It is the digital version of a traditional contract, but without the need for intermediaries like attorneys, banks, or brokerages.

FAQs about Old Glory Bank's Next Generation of Banking

Find answers to Old Glory Bank's specific plans and how we are building our unified dashboard.

We are targeting February or March 2026 for phase one. This will have everything you saw in our demo, except for stablecoin as a service. Our great unified dashboard, on which you can see your crypto prices and your self-custodial wallet, will be available in phase one. You’ll be able to move money on and off the blockchain, use our stablecoin, and we will have liquidity access lines set up. Phase two, possibly launching in May, will have stablecoin as a service and our custodial wallet.

Definitely not! We believe in giving our customers the freedom of choice. With Old Glory Bank, you will have the freedom of choice between using traditional bank accounts, crypto, or both.

No, the beauty of our product will be the unity of crypto and daily banking in a single app. Those customers who wish to use only the traditional banking features that you are used to will be able to, and those who choose to use the crypto features can do so as well. Freedom of choice!

The initial launch will support HBAR and XDC.  XRP, BTC, and XLM will be fast followers.       

We’re also developing a seamless stablecoin on-ramp and off-ramp that lets you move funds directly to and from your Old Glory account, without the hassle of third-party DEXs or untrusted connections. You will be able to do all of this using either the Freedom Checking or Premium Checking accounts, so please choose the one that fits your needs the best.

Regarding payment rails, when you use our debit card to purchase from somewhere that accepts Mastercard, your transaction will ride on the same payment rails as every Mastercard transaction.

The OGB USD stablecoin is backed dollar-for-dollar (i.e., no fractional shares). A dollar-backed stablecoin cannot lose value, except to the extent inflation impacts all US currency. OGBUSD is like "cash."  A dollar-backed stablecoin makes it easy to remit payments, but we do recognize it is not a hedge against inflation. The purpose of OGBUSD is to make payments anywhere in the world and fly over the top of the Federal Reserve and the SWIFT platform. But a stablecoin is not an investment asset and is not a hedge against inflation.

The initial launch will support HBAR and XDC.  XRP, BTC and XLM will be fast followers.

We are working on a custodial wallet solution as part of our crypto solution. Our crypto services will be compatible with your cold wallet as well, if you want to go that way.

 

There is no requirement to use our stablecoin, but we think you’ll want to take advantage of the low friction in using it for on-ramping and off-ramping.

We have definitely planned a “treasury management” solution for a business to hold crypto on the balance sheet, in a custodial wallet at Old Glory Bank.   Although our initial launch will not likely have this ready, we predict it will be ready by Q2 2026. 

Old Glory Bank is building a best-in-class crypto experience right inside our online banking platform.  Soon, you’ll be able to view your crypto balances and activity alongside your regular accounts, simply by linking your self-custodial wallet to your online banking login. Unfortunately, currently, Old Glory Bank does not have a currency desk and, thus, we are not able to exchange or convert foreign currency. For today, we accept deposits in US dollars, so if your crypto exchange converts crypto into US Currency and ACH's currency to your account, we have no preset restrictions on crypto firms and will look at every transmitter of XRP of funds under the same color lens.

 

We do not have an announcement regarding gold and silver storage/conversion services at this time.

When we launch the next generation of banking (Q1 of 2026), our solution will definitely include crypto-backed lending.  We don’t yet know the appropriate LTV, but that’s coming.

For crypto lending, collateral is held by a dedicated collateral contract which will be publicly viewable.  Its assets will not be rehypothecated. In the future, we may offer loans in which we rehypothecate collateral, however, that would be a completely separate offering in which the terms are clear, and likely with a different rate structure.

The collateral backing OGBUSD is USD only.  Please note that we may hold some of these assets in overnights and US Treasuries with expirations of 93 days or less, but we guarantee that it is all liquid and USD.

OGBUSD is primarily different from a CBDC in that 1) it is not issued by any government or government agency, and 2) there is no centralized government control of it. The key implication is that even though transactions are visible on chain, your ID and its association with your wallet can remain private.  In terms of interchangeability, OGBUSD is freely tradeable and can always be redeemed at a guaranteed 1:1 through your OGB account.  And, as an ERC-20 token, you may swap it with other tokens on exchanges or through our interface at very low swap fees.

 

Lastly, the bank does not approve OGBUSD transactions. It’s your money. You spend it as you choose.

Anchorage does not offer public wallet/custody services; they only offer it for corporate treasuries. Regarding treasury services, we will have a GREAT solution, but not on day one. Standby for more information on this coming soon!

Transaction times vary per blockchain.  Our demo was running on Sepolia, which like Ethereum Mainnet, where our initial release will be, has a block completion time of 12 seconds, generally speaking.  Since blocks complete roughly on that 12-second beat, sometimes a transaction hits the transaction queue right before the block closes, and feels instant, and sometimes it comes right after and must wait nearly 12 seconds for the next block.  On a couple of those transactions, we probably got lucky.  On internal transactions we generate, we use an optimized gas strategy that is extremely likely to hit the current block in progress, maximizing our chances of “getting lucky.” 

 

On XRPL, you’re going to see reliably fast transactions, given the 3-second block time.

Yes, and better. We are a unified fiat and digital solution, so not only will you be able to hold your treasury assets, but you’ll also be able to do everything else that you can with a traditional bank.

We are a law and order bank, so we are always going to follow the law. When you sell a digital asset, just like when you sell stock or land, you will be issued a 1099, as we are required to report the gross proceeds to the IRS. The solution is to not sell your crypto until you need to, and thus you will not have a taxable transaction.

 

If you send a stablecoin from one account to another account, that is not a redemption, and that happens within your own self-custodial wallet, so there is no transaction to report.

As of today, you will not earn interest on a stablecoin, because if a bank paid interest on the money backing the stablecoin, the bank would have to make money to pay that interest, which means fractional banking and risk. OGB won’t loan out the money backing your OGBUSD stablecoin, which means we don’t earn interest on that money, so we can’t pay you interest.

We will have all the advanced security protecting your accounts just as we do today with your traditional bank accounts. With regard to your personal crypto wallet, no one should ever need or want the keys to your wallet, including any bank. So if you choose to use a self-custodial wallet, we have no power to access that wallet whatsoever. The security is well within your control.

 

When it comes to custodial wallets you have with us, we are working on security protocols now, which will give you the same level of security you expect and deserve from any bank.

Regarding protection against search and seizure or government freezing accounts? We will hold to the same standard we do now, which is pushing the limit to the extent of the Constitution and the law. We are a law and order bank. We frequently push back on subpoenas, and we will not willingly give up a customer’s data. But we will always operate lawfully. When it comes down to it, you have to trust that your bank has your back, knows the law, and isn’t afraid to push back on unlawful overreach.

The cost for using OGB’s custodial wallet is free to customers in good standing. In regards to gas fees, we are going to work to get you the best spot price, and we will make the fees visible to you before you confirm the transaction. Stablecoin generation, minting, and burning are likely to be fee-free because OGB is running these transactions from our own wallet, paying our own gas for the transaction.

Cryptocurrency vs. CBDC

It is critical to understand the distinction between cryptocurrency and CBDC. It can be easy to confuse the two.

While both operate digitally, the key distinction lies in who controls them and what that means for personal financial autonomy. 

On January 23, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order entitled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.” In this order, he set out “five high-level policy objectives: 

  1. Protecting the lawful use of blockchain networks, participation in mining and validation, and self-custody of digital assets without unlawful censorship; 
  2. Promoting dollar-backed stablecoins; 
  3. Ensuring fair and open access to banking services; 
  4. Providing “regulatory clarity” for digital assets based on “well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries,” and 
  5. Prohibiting Central Bank Digital Currencies (“CBDC”).

So, what’s the difference?  

CBDCs vs. Cryptocurrencies: Who Controls Your Money? 

CBDCs are government-backed digital currencies issued by central banks, while cryptocurrencies operate on decentralized networks. Supporters of CBDCs argue they improve efficiency and security, while critics warn they could lead to increased government control over individual financial freedom. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies offer a free-market alternative, though they come with their own risks and volatility. 

Ultimately, the decision of whether to embrace or reject either system should be left to the individual investor – not dictated by the state. 

Old Glory Bank has always taken the position that CBDCs are not likely to be implemented in the United States of America as the Federal Reserve cannot designate digital currency as "legal tender" under Section 31 U.S.C. 5103. Digital Dollars would be outside what Congress intended when it enacted this statute, especially considering the history of this statute back to 1884. Fortunately, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve also shares our view and already acknowledged on March 20, 2021, that the Federal Reserve could not issue digital currency without Congress enacting legislation. In this regard, we do not believe that a Republican House or the Senate will support this legislation. Of course, this position was even before President Trump’s express Executive Order prohibiting CBDC which further makes it apparent that a CBDC is neither likely nor possible in the United States.