A lot of what FTX did was indeed bank-like, the difference being that they avoided outright qualifying as a bank because of the associated regulations. Inciden

A lot of what FTX did was indeed bank-like, the difference being that they avoided outright qualifying as a bank because of the associated regulations. Incidentally, this was something they got in trouble for just a few months ago because they made it seem like they were covered by FDIC (like banks are required to be), but were not.