Corporate Counsel Daily, Warren questions Beast acquisition of teen financial technology app, (Mar 25, 2026)

By A. Bryan Gerepka

Beast Industries has a history of promoting products to children and teens and has signaled its interest in promoting decentralized currency and cryptocurrency.

Beast Industries’ recent acquisition of Step, a financial technology app for teenagers, raises several legal, regulatory, and ethical questions, according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). In a March 23 letter, Warren asked Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, founder of Beast Industries, and Jeffrey Housenbold, Chief Executive Officer, to respond to a series of questions on their plans to protect minors as they integrate Step into their company. Beast announced the acquisition of Step on Feb. 9, 2026. She requested responses to her questions by April 3.

Most of the questions focus on whether Beast will allow Step users to invest in and hold cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including plans to offer programs, special promotions, and rewards that encourage teens to participate in the crypto markets. Warren also questioned whether Beast is capable and prepared to manage a financial company, alluding to the company’s lack of financial regulatory experience, and questionable history involving employee insider trading, unethical crypto activity, and misleading advertising.

Step, a financial technology company formed in 2018, marketed its banking, financial education, and cryptocurrency trading activities to minors. However, in 2024, Step “quietly shut the option [to hold and trade cryptocurrencies] down”, and as of February 2024, users could no longer purchase new cryptocurrency. As of May 1, 2024, Step closed “all crypto investing accounts” and liquidated any remaining cryptocurrency.

Beast Industries is primarily an entertainment and consumer product company, and any foray into financial services, particularly services aimed at children, must be done with great care and in compliance with the law, Warren warned.

The senator also questioned why Beast Industries filed a trademark for BeastFinance, noting that Beast has expressed interest in expanding into decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrency. She asked the Beast executives to explain how they planned to use BeastFinance with Step, any Step product, or any Step subsidiary.

“Despite Step’s careful claims that crypto investing by minors was only with the permission of a parent or guardian, Step published resources encouraging kids to pressure their parents into crypto investments,” wrote the lawmaker. “Step, for example, produced a video titled ‘How to Talk to Your Parents About Investing in Crypto,’ which was targeted at kids whose parents ‘want nothing to do with crypto,’.... The video coaches children on how to convince their parents to let them make investments their parents may not want and includes specific scripts for children to use while talking to their parents.”

Role of Evolve Bank. Warren also flagged the risks of Step’s partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust. Evolve was a central player in the 2024 Synapse bankruptcy, in which a court mediator found that up to $96 million in customer funds could not be located. That same year, the Federal Reserve brought an enforcement action against Evolve for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and compliance programs, and the bank confirmed a data breach that exposed customer data on the dark web.

Given that Step’s users include minors, Warren expressed serious concern about the security of their personal and financial information. The senator requested a description of Beast‘s compliance and risk management operation, including a list of individuals in legal compliance roles, copies of employee manuals, and standard operating procedures. The senator also asked Beast to justify its decision to partner with Evolve in this venture.

Misleading FDIC disclosure. Warren also pointed to certain statements that Step made regarding insurance of bank deposits. Step states, “The FDIC provides deposit insurance to protect your money in the event of a bank failure. Your deposits are automatically insured to at least $250,000 at each FDIC-insured bank.” She asked Beast to explain how this disclosure is compliant with current law. “Why does Step not include language clarifying that the FDIC insurance would not be applicable if Step and not the FDIC-insured bank is the entity to fail,” she asked. “Moreover, how can Step state that deposits are ‘automatically’ insured if that insurance only applies under certain factual scenarios?”

Companies: Beast Industries; Evolve Bank & Trust; Step

MainStory: TopStory FinTech GCNNews OversightInvestigations