OCC reaffirms bank charters open to crypto

TLDR

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has reiterated that crypto firms can apply for U.S. bank charters if they meet normal regulatory standards, keeping charters formally open to digital assets.

1. OCC leaders say companies engaged in legally permissible digital asset activities should have a path to national bank status, with dozens of new applications already in the pipeline.
2. In practice this means mainly national trust bank charters, giving crypto firms regulated custody and banking access but with strict capital, governance and compliance requirements.
3. The real impact will depend on how many of the 13 pending digital asset applications are approved and how political and legal challenges around OCC authority play out.

Deep Dive

1. What The OCC Reaffirmed

Recent statements from OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould confirm that firms using digital assets and other novel technologies should have a path to national bank status if their activities are legally permissible and meet supervisory standards, reversing years of de facto discouragement of new charters. This stance is detailed in an OCC-focused explainer on digital asset charter policy.

Over the past 18 months, the OCC reports around 40 de novo bank applications, including numerous national trust bank proposals, and says many complete applications are decided within about 120 days. Conditional trust charters for Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo and Fidelity Digital Assets, plus preliminary approval for Coinbase, show the policy is already being used, while the denial of Wise National Trust highlights that approvals are not automatic, as summarized in this crypto licensing overview.

2. Why Bank Charters Matter For Crypto

A national charter lets a crypto firm operate inside the federal banking system instead of relying on fragile relationships with third party banks. For many, the realistic target is a national trust bank charter that allows regulated custody and certain crypto services, but not retail deposit-taking or traditional lending, as described in this charter mechanics explainer.

The trade-off is rigor. Applicants must prove robust governance, adequate capital, strong risk management and full AML/KYC compliance. Meeting those standards can lower regulatory uncertainty, cut state-by-state licensing friction and make it easier to serve institutional clients that demand bank-level oversight.

3. What To Watch Next

The OCC currently lists 13 pending digital asset related applications, including names like Revolut and EDX Trust, with outcomes that will signal how open the door truly is for crypto banking, according to the same licensing overview.

At the same time, lawmakers and banking groups, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and the Bank Policy Institute, are questioning how far the OCCs trust charter authority can stretch over crypto firms, and any court or Congressional pushback could narrow the path. Parallel moves at the SEC, such as its upcoming Regulation Crypto proposal, and the fate of the CLARITY Act will shape how these bank charters fit into a broader U.S. digital asset rulebook.

Conclusion

The OCCs reaffirmation keeps bank charters formally open to crypto, but on traditional banking terms: strong supervision, constrained activities and careful case-by-case approvals. For crypto firms that can meet those standards, federal charters could provide deeper, more durable access to U.S. dollar rails and institutional clients, while the wider industry will need to watch how pending applications, political scrutiny and parallel SEC and Congressional actions refine what open for business really means.