# Evolve Bank & Trust

**Type:** Banking partner for fintech platforms
**Status:** Active, under regulatory scrutiny
**Notable Partners:** Step (Beast Industries), Synapse (bankrupt 2024)

## Overview

Evolve Bank & Trust serves as banking infrastructure for fintech platforms, including teen banking app Step (acquired by Beast Industries in 2026).

## Compliance History

### Synapse Bankruptcy (2024)
Evolve was entangled in the Synapse bankruptcy, which left $96M in consumer deposits unlocated. This represents a documented instance where an Evolve-partnered fintech left consumers without access to funds.

### Federal Reserve Enforcement
Evolve was subject to Federal Reserve enforcement action specifically for AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and compliance deficiencies.

### Data Breach
Evolve experienced a dark web data breach exposing customer data.

## Regulatory Attention

The bank's compliance history became a focal point of Senator Elizabeth Warren's March 2026 scrutiny of Beast Industries' Step acquisition, with Warren citing all three compliance failures as evidence of consumer protection risk.

## Timeline

- **2024** — Synapse bankruptcy leaves $96M in consumer deposits unlocated
- **2024** — Federal Reserve enforcement action for AML/compliance deficiencies
- **2024** — Dark web data breach of customer data
- **2026-03-23** — Named in Senator Warren letter as risk factor in Beast Industries' Step acquisition