U.S. crypto banking charter rush reshapes global financial access
Source Cryptopolitan
More cryptocurrency firms are moving closer to the heart of the U.S. banking system, with a growing number of applications for federal trust bank charters.
More than a dozen crypto and fintech companies have either applied for or secured conditional national trust bank charters from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to American Banker and FinTech Weekly.
Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, and BitGo are the most notable, alongside Morgan Stanley and Fidelity Digital Assets.
Just in the news on Friday, Kraken’s parent firm, Payward, has joined the list. The company announced it has filed for a national trust company charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with plans to establish the Payward National Trust Company (PNTC).
PNTC will provide bank-level crypto custody and trust services for both institutional clients and individual customers, according to Payward’s statement.
More crypto firms are securing OCC charter approval
An OCC national trust bank charter gives a company custody and management of assets under a single federal regulator. Overseas institutions are more familiar with a federally supervised banking framework.
Under Trump’s administration, we are seeing the US banking regulator ease up on crypto companies.
In just the past month, Coinbase received conditional approval for its own national trust company charter. The OCC also granted approvals to Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. Crypto.com last year.
“New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry, and the economy,” OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould said.
He added in his announcement of the first round of conditional approvals. “The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance.”
On Dec. 12, 2025, the OCC granted approvals to Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. Crypto.com followed in February 2026, while Coinbase received conditional approval on April 2, 2026.
Federally regulated crypto custodians could create a more direct bridge between traditional finance and blockchain-based markets.
The business case behind the charter race among crypto firms
For crypto firms, the move toward federal charters is not simply about reputation. It is also about cutting costs and gaining direct access to financial infrastructure.
Over the years, crypto companies have had to rely on partner banks to access payment systems. But increased scrutiny of sponsor-bank relationships under Biden’s administration led several banks to scale back their exposure, in what many industry participants now call the “Operation Chokepoint.”
That left many crypto firms facing higher operational costs and fewer banking options.
A federal charter reduces dependence on outside banking partners while giving firms direct regulatory standing under the OCC.
What key questions remain unresolved
Most of the crypto companies are still under conditional approval, meaning they are not fully operational banks. Anchorage Digital Bank is the only crypto-native company fully operational as a national trust bank.
Other firms are still navigating capital requirements, compliance reviews, and regulatory examinations.
Another major unresolved issue is access to the Federal Reserve’s payment infrastructure.
A national trust bank charter provides only federal recognition and supervision. It does not automatically grant access to Fed payment rails, which remain essential for moving U.S. dollars through the financial system.
Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller has said he is exploring the possibility of a streamlined account structure for these institutions, though regulators have not yet announced a formal framework.
Meanwhile, earlier in March, the Federal Reserve opened its payment rails to Kraken’s banking unit, making the crypto firm the first of its kind to score such access, Cryptopolitan reported.
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