OCC Approves 5 Crypto Firms' National Trust Charters

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced on December 12 that it has conditionally approved five applications for national trust bank charters from companies involved in digital assets, marking a significant step toward integrating cryptocurrency firms into the U.S. federal banking system.

The approvals include new charters for Ripple National Trust Bank and First National Digital Currency Bank, a Circle subsidiary focused on its USDC stablecoin. BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company received conditional approval to convert their existing state-level trust charters to federal national trust banks. These charters allow the firms to provide federally regulated custody and trust services for digital and non-deposit financial assets, such as stablecoins and tokenized instruments, while operating across state lines under uniform oversight.

Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould emphasized the benefits of the move in an OCC statement. "New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy," he said. "They provide access to new products, services and sources of credit to consumers, and ensure a...