TL;DR
- Senator Warren demands MrBeast detail crypto and NFT plans for teen banking app.
- Letter cites 472 million subscribers, youth audience, and $200 million crypto-mining investment.
- Response due April 3; outcome may raise compliance costs for youth-focused fintechs.
Elizabeth Warren sent a letter Monday to Jimmy Donaldson — the YouTuber known as MrBeast — pressing him on whether his company intends to use the recently acquired mobile banking app Step to market cryptocurrency products to teenagers and young adults. Warren also addressed the letter to Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold and requested responses by April 3.
Donaldson founded Beast Industries in 2012 alongside the launch of his YouTube channel, where he now counts more than 472 million subscribers. In February, the company acquired Step, a mobile banking platform with a reported user base of seven million, largely composed of younger users.
At the time, Donaldson stated his goal was to give “millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.” An October 2025 trademark application for MrBeast Financial subsequently outlined plans for a mobile app that would include “cryptocurrency exchange services.”
Warren pointed out in her letter that Step had already announced in 2022 plans to let “teens under 18 and young adults buy, sell, hold and receive crypto,” with the stated condition of parental oversight.
“Step has undercut its own credibility by going around kids’ parents and directly coaching minors on how to convince their parents to let them make an investment their parents do not wish them to make.”
The senator challenged the practical enforcement of that condition, noting that Step published materials encouraging minors to pressure their parents into approving crypto investments. Warren stated directly that any move into financial services aimed at children “must be done with great care and in compliance with the law.“
“Does Beast Industries intend to allow users of Step to invest in or hold cryptocurrency or NFTs? Provide copies of any such plans, communication, meeting minutes, or other documents to support your answer.”
Beast Industries already carries financial ties to the crypto industry: in January, BitMine Immersion Technology invested $200 million in the company.
The Hawk Tuah Case: Real Losses for Young Investors
Warren’s concerns carry more weight alongside the recent experience of Haliey Welch, the influencer widely known as “Hawk Tuah” after a TikTok video went viral in 2024. Welch spoke publicly for the first time in months to address the collapse of her HAWK memecoin, whose launch left investors with estimated losses of $200,000.
The token reached a market capitalization of roughly $500 million before collapsing more than 90%, prompting widespread speculation of a rug pull. Welch also reported receiving death threats in the aftermath.
The intersection of young audiences, entertainment brands, and cryptocurrency creates an environment that regulators now watch with growing attention, and Warren’s letter to MrBeast represents one of the first formal congressional moves in response to it.
