OCC Approves National Trust Bank Charters for Five Major Crypto Companies
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has conditionally approved national trust bank charters for five major crypto firms: Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, Paxos, and Circle.
- Ripple and Circle received approval for new national trust banks. Ripple aims to operate as a federally regulated digital asset custodian.
- BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos are converting from state trust companies to national trust banks.
"New entrants into the federal banking sector are beneficial," said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould.
This move marks a policy shift under Gould's leadership, potentially allowing US banks to act as crypto intermediaries. Charter applications surged in 2025, with 14 companies applying, compared to fewer than four annually from 2011-2024.
Details of Conditional Approvals
- Circle will establish First National Digital Currency Bank to manage the USDC Reserve and provide digital asset custody services.
- Ripple applied for both a charter and a Federal Reserve master account in July 2025.
- BitGo can now offer nationwide regulated crypto services without state-by-state licensing.
The approvals align with broader trends in crypto adoption and regulatory activity. Nasdaq seeks to trade tokenized equities, while CME Group plans 24/7 crypto futures and options trading starting early 2026, pending regulatory review.
These conditional approvals require meeting specific OCC conditions before becoming fully operational national trust banks.