OCC green lights Ripple, BitGo, Paxos national trust bank charter applications

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has announced conditional approvals for five national trust bank charter applications from cryptocurrency-related firms, Ripple, BitGo, and Paxos, alongside Circle and Fidelity Digital Assets.

All five companies are responsible for issuing stablecoins. However, Fidelity is yet to issue its own stablecoin, still allegedly said to be testing in anticipation of a launch earlier this year.

Which firms have an OCC national trust bank license?

According to an official release, the conditional approval of the five national trust bank charter applications is subject to meeting the OCC’s conditions, after which all five institutions will join approximately 60 other national trust banks currently supervised by the OCC.

The OCC claims to have applied the same rigorous review and standards it applies to all charter applications before deciding to grant the conditional approvals. It also meticulously reviewed each application, based on its individual merits, consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory factors.

“New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould. “They provide access to new products, services and sources of credit to consumers, and ensure a dynamic, competitive and diverse banking system.”

Gould says the OCC will continue to chart a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system is able to keep up with the evolution of finance and support a modern economy.

Among the five firms involved, the OCC conditionally approved applications for new national banking charters for USDC issuer Circle’s First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank. 

The other three, namely BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company, already had state charters but received conditional approval for conversions to a national trust bank. 

The national trust bank charters will enable the above-mentioned firms to carry out a variety of tasks, including custody digital assets, issue stablecoins, and related services under federal regulation, without full commercial banking powers (like lending deposits). 

The green light from the OCC is a significant achievement for the banks involved, as the federal banking system, which includes more than 1,000 national banks operating in the United States, conducts approximately 67% of the banking activity in the United States and holds more than $17 trillion in assets combined with more than $85 trillion under their control.

Other crypto applicants waiting with pending applications for such an approval from the OCC include Coinbase, Crypto.com’s Foris DAX National Trust Bank, Stripe’s stablecoin orchestration affiliate Bridge, Brazil neobank Nubank, and Sony’s Connectia.

Protego’s National Digital Trust Company is also among those ranks. The company initially got a conditional approval in 2021, but the decision was suspended after Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown sent a letter to the OCC demanding a reassessment. 

OCC approval divides opinions

The overall response to the approvals has been mostly positive from the crypto industry, with the likes of Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse calling it “huge news” and a “massive step forward” for RLUSD stablecoin compliance, while criticizing banking lobby opposition as “anti-competitive.”

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe has declared that it “marks an official end to the war on crypto and the beginning of the next era of innovation in banking” while Circle emphasized it enhances safety for USDC reserves and institutional custody.

Speaking about the development, Charles Cascarilla, CEO and co-founder of Paxos, said it will enable customers to innovate, incubate and grow digital asset businesses safely and seamlessly within the US.

Observers and analysts have been describing it as a significant milestone for crypto companies, signaling maturity, nationwide operational authority, and reduced institutional friction for digital asset custody and settlement.

However, it has not been all positive comments. Greg Baer, BPI President and CEO, responded to the decision with a less enthusiastic statement, which claimed that the decision leaves “substantial unanswered questions.” 

“Chiefly, whether the requirements the OCC has outlined for the applicants are appropriately tailored to the activities and risks in which the trust will engage,” Baer said. “We hope the OCC will share more details about these applications so the public can better understand the rationale behind today’s decision.” 

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