Beast Industries, the media and consumer products company founded by YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, has acquired Step, a mobile banking app designed for teenagers and young adults. The deal marks the company’s clearest move yet beyond entertainment and into financial services.
The acquisition comes just weeks after Beast Industries secured a $200 million strategic investment from BitMine Immersion Technologies, sharpening attention on how creator-led brands are branching into fintech and financial education.
A creator brand looks beyond content
Donaldson, who built the MrBeast brand into the largest channel on YouTube, said in a post on X that the purchase is aimed at giving younger users tools and guidance to manage money earlier in life. Beast Industries chief executive Jeff Housenbold framed the move as a response to gaps in access and literacy around personal finance.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Beast Industries did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
The acquisition follows an October trademark filing for “MrBeast Financial,” which referenced potential services such as cryptocurrency exchanges, payment processing, and decentralized finance tools. The company has not confirmed whether those plans are connected to Step or remain exploratory.
What Step brings to the table
Founded in 2018, Step positions itself as a financial on-ramp for Gen Z, offering spending accounts, rewards, credit-building features, and educational tools. Customer funds are held in FDIC-insured accounts via Evolve Bank & Trust.
Over eight years, Step has grown to about 6.5 million users and raised roughly $500 million from investors and backers, including high-profile athletes and entertainers. That scale gives Beast Industries an established fintech platform rather than a product built from scratch.
Why the timing matters
The deal lands at a moment when creator-led businesses are seeking more predictable revenue streams beyond advertising and brand deals. Fintech, particularly products aimed at younger consumers, offers recurring engagement and long-term customer value.
It also follows BitMine’s $200 million investment in Beast Industries earlier this year. At the time, BitMine chair Tom Lee described the funding as a long-term bet on the creator economy, citing MrBeast’s reach across Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and millennials. He did not signal any immediate plans to integrate cryptocurrency into Beast Industries’ products.
What comes next
For now, Beast Industries is positioning the Step acquisition around financial literacy and access rather than crypto services. Whether the broader “MrBeast Financial” trademark evolves into consumer-facing crypto products remains unclear.
This report is based on the provided source; independent confirmation or updates beyond the shared material were not available at the time of writing.
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