But what Vast did in 2021 was even bolder.

It became the first federally chartered bank to receive approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to offer customers the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency directly from a checking account.

For his efforts in achieving this milestone, Vast Bank CEO Brad Scrivner was chosen by Tulsa World Magazine as Tulsan of the Year.

“The Biolchinis (the bank was founded by Bob Biolchini in 1982) are a very generous and very entrepreneurial family who want to see good things happen in Tulsa,” Scrivner said. “As we are successful we want to invest back and be a part of this exciting story that is taking place in Tulsa. We think it’s a really exciting place.

“If we were to find a way to compete and stay in tune with ever-changing customer preferences and ongoing technological advancements, we felt we had to do things differently. So we felt that there was an opportunity for us to evolve into a digital leadership position. “

In early 2021, Vast executed an end-to-end cryptocurrency transaction. Later in the year, it rolled out its crypto banking service.

Cryptocurrency is an emerging form of technology-based digital currency with advantages over traditional currencies including advanced security, reduced middlemen, cross-border transactions, and near instant settlement, even with large transactions.

Through Vast’s crypto-banking app, customers will be able to purchase a range of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano (Ada), Ethereum (Ether), Litecoin, Orchid, and Algorand.

“If you think of a safe, in the physical world in terms of a bank, the bank itself owns the safe, but you, as the owner, own the contents, whether it is jewelry, of art or gold, ”said Scrivner, 52. “The bank is the custodian, the custodian of this asset.

“It’s a direct parallel with digital assets. The digital wallet is just the safe in digital format. Cryptocurrencies are just those digital assets that are in this digital wallet. “

The extra layer of reinsurance that banks have traditionally provided will continue to push financial institutions into the crypto business, Scrivner said.

“There are people who are crypto-curious,” he said. “They hear about these things. But they are uncomfortable going out and investing directly with a stock exchange or directly with Fintech. So now you have a national bank that has come up, very regulated, and 60% of these people who are crypto curious say, “Yeah, if my bank is involved, I’m ready to invest. “

A former University of Missouri defensive back Scrivner said his financial achievements are the work of many, just as they were when he played football in the Big Eight Conference.

“There are players whose role is more visible, but the whole team has to be able to drive the culture of high performance, to build the things that we are building,” he said. “From shareholders to our executives, to our cashiers, to the whole organization, we’ve really built an amazing team.”