In brief
- Beast Industries, MrBeast’s holding company, is acquiring Step, a mobile banking platform for teenagers and young adults with FDIC insurance through Evolve Bank & Trust.
- Step has raised $491 million from high-profile investors including Stephen Curry, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, and The Chainsmokers.
- The acquisition follows 2025 trademark filings hinting at MrBeast’s interest in crypto exchanges and financial products, now materializing through teen-focused banking.
Beast Industries, a financial entity tied to YouTube star MrBeast, has agreed to acquire fintech startup Step for an undisclosed amount.
Beast Industries is the holding company behind MrBeast’s consumer brands, including packaged snack brand Feastables, and manages business ventures outside his wildly popular YouTube channel, which has more than 466 million subscribers.
The acquisition means that MrBeast, whose real name is James Stephen Donaldson, has bought a firm that has an existing banking partner, Evolve Bank & Trust, that’s an FDIC member and insured up to $250,000 per depositor. Step has focused on building mobile-based banking for teenagers and young adults.
Beast Industries didn’t say when the deal will be finalized, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment about details from Decrypt.
Step has raised $491 million to date through six fundraising rounds, according to Crunchbase. The company has backing from 4-time NBA Champion Stephen Curry, pop star Justin Timberlake, actor Will Smith, and electronic DJ duo The Chainsmokers.
In 2025, entities linked to MrBeast filed trademark applications related to a potential crypto exchange, signaling early interest in financial products beyond media and merchandise. While there’s yet to be any mention of a crypto exchange, the filings suggested ambitions that extended into payments, digital assets, and financial education—areas that now overlap with Step’s teen-focused banking platform.
“Financial health is fundamental to overall wellbeing, yet too many people lack access to the tools and knowledge they need to build financial security,” Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, said in a press release. “This acquisition positions us to meet our audiences where they are, with practical, technology-driven solutions that can transform their financial futures for the better.”
The news won approval from BitMine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee, whose Ethereum treasury company recently invested $200 million in Donaldson’s company.
Lee congratulated MrBeast on X, saying that the move into financial services complements the YouTube creator’s ongoing businesses.
“GenZ are entering their adult years,” Lee wrote, “and these are crucial years for financial education managing and investing savings and understating financial markets.”
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