The OCC has today conditionally approved five companies focused on digital assets for national trust bank licenses. This indicates a cautious but clear expansion of crypto companies within the federal banking system.
The decision contradicts statements from parts of the banking sector that crypto cannot comply with regulations. At the same time, it also complicates the sector's own narrative that there is a coordinated effort to exclude crypto from the financial system.
The five companies behind the approval.
Along with Ripple National Trust Bank, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also conditionally approved four other digital asset-focused institutions. This suggests a broader regulatory approach rather than a one-time exception.
In addition to Ripple, the OCC approved a new trust bank application from First National Digital Currency Bank, and allowed Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos to transition from a state license to a federal license.
All five approvals are provisional and require each institution to meet specific operational, governance, and compliance standards before a final approval is granted.
"New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking sector, and the economy," said OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould in a press release. "They provide consumers access to new products, services, and credit sources and ensure a dynamic, competitive, and diverse banking system."
The commonality among these companies is their business model and their position in the regulated financial system.
None of them want to operate as a full-fledged commercial bank offering deposits or traditional loans. They primarily focus on the custody, settlement, and infrastructure for digital assets, mainly aimed at institutional clients.
For established names like Fidelity and Paxos, a national license means one federal regulator and nationwide approval. This replaces fragmented state oversight, simplifying the regulatory process for large-scale operations.
For newer players like Ripple National Trust Bank and First National Digital Currency Bank, the approval opens the door to the federal system without needing to offer direct consumer services.
Together, the approvals show that the OCC is not preventing crypto companies, but rather determining which models are allowed.
The debanking discussion explained.
The debate over the ‘debanking’ of crypto has intensified in recent years. This is often seen as a struggle between regulators, banks, and digital asset companies.
Crypto leaders increasingly claim that banks, spurred by regulators, systematically deny access to basic services. This narrative gained traction under the name ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0,’ reminiscent of earlier stringent regulatory measures that were mainly linked to former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Banks and regulators deny this. According to them, they make choices based on risk management, compliance, and reputation, not from a particular conviction.
These tensions resurfaced on Wednesday when the OCC published preliminary results from its investigation into alleged debanking by the largest American banks.
Debanking was real, but limited.
The OCC concluded from the December 10 study that the largest banks in the country did indeed engage in debanking practices between 2020 and 2023.
The regulator states that banks made inappropriate distinctions between legitimate businesses, restricting access or imposing stricter controls driven mainly by reputation concerns.
Digital asset activities were explicitly mentioned as one of the affected sectors, alongside weapons, energy companies, adult entertainment, and payday loans.
Yet, the OCC's perspective is narrower than the sector's ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0’ rhetoric. The report focuses primarily on rules and procedures set by banks, not on a central order to shut down crypto companies.
That difference is important for how this new debate is interpreted.
A large part of the examined period overlaps with the crypto decline of 2022–2023 and its impact on banks.
The study was published under the leadership of Gould, who was appointed earlier this year by President Donald Trump. Gould indicated that the findings are part of efforts to limit ‘used’ financial policies and exclusion based on reputational risk.
In this light, the conditional approvals for five crypto-focused trust banks make the narrative of ongoing exclusion less credible.
Even though banks and industry organizations warn of differences in regulation, the approvals demonstrate that access to the federal system is increasing for trust banks that comply with the rules.
