Including stablecoin issuers such as Circle and Ripple, cryptocurrency firms have received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for national trust bank charters, allowing them to offer trust services such as digital asset custody. Obtaining this charter means these crypto companies can operate nationwide without needing to apply for licenses in each state, symbolizing further openness in the U.S. to financial innovation.
Circle and Ripple have obtained OCC national trust bank charters.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced on December 12, 2025, conditional approval for the national trust bank charter applications of five companies related to cryptocurrency. These five companies include:
First National Digital Currency Bank (newly established), a subsidiary of Circle Internet Group Inc.
Ripple's Ripple National Trust Bank (newly established)
BitGo Bank & Trust (state-chartered to federal)
Fidelity Digital Assets (state-chartered to federal)
Paxos Trust Company (state-chartered to federal)
Currently, there are about 60 national trust banks regulated by the OCC.
Obtain the OCC federal-level charter, unrestricted across the country
The director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Jonathan V. Gould, stated:
"New entrants to the federal banking system benefit consumers, the banking industry, and the economy by providing consumers with new products, services, and sources of credit, while ensuring a vibrant, competitive, and diverse banking system. The OCC will continue to provide pathways for the development of both traditional and innovative financial services to ensure that the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of the financial industry and supports the modern economy."
These approvals are conditional, and companies must also meet the OCC's requirements for capital, governance, risk management, etc., before receiving final approval and operating. National trust banks can provide trust services such as digital asset custody but cannot accept cash deposits or engage in lending. However, obtaining this license means these crypto companies can operate nationwide without needing to apply for relevant licenses in each state, symbolizing further openness of the U.S. to financial innovation.
Anchorage Digital Bank is the first cryptocurrency company to obtain a national trust charter in 2021. Other cryptocurrency companies submitting applications to the OCC include Coinbase Global Inc., Bridge Network (the stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe), and Crypto.com.
New startups are joining! This brings competitive risks to traditional banks.
In addition to issuing charters, U.S. banking regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, are also seeking other ways to attract startups into the financial system. For example, the Federal Reserve is considering whether to allow fintech companies to access payment systems like FedWire through a so-called "streamlined" master account.
Karen Shaw Petrou, long-term policy analyst and managing partner at Federal Financial Analysis Company, stated that these developments not only signify the legitimacy of newcomers but also pose competitive risks to established lending institutions. He believes that the OCC, FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), and possibly even the Federal Reserve will provide more favorable treatment to non-traditional companies that are not bound by many regulations and are allowed to directly compete with services that we believe should now be referred to as "traditional banks."
Paxos CEO and co-founder Charles Cascarilla also stated:
"This clearly indicates that the government is actively embracing crypto assets and blockchain assets (such as stablecoins) to change the financial system. During the previous administration, the situation was very unfavorable after the collapse of FTX, but now the entire industry's situation is drastically different."
This article about Circle, Ripple, and other crypto companies obtaining the OCC national trust bank charter first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.
