Several major crypto firms, including Ripple and Circle, received preliminary approval on Friday from a top U.S. banking regulator to establish national trust banks, marking a significant step toward deeper integration of digital assets into the traditional banking system.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted conditional approval for new national trust bank charters to Ripple and Circle. The regulator also conditionally approved requests from BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity to convert their existing state trust bank charters into national charters, allowing them to operate across the United States.
Final authorization from the OCC is still required before any of the trust banks can officially begin operations.
If fully approved, the national trust bank charters would permit these companies to custody and manage assets on behalf of clients and facilitate faster payment settlements. However, the licenses would not allow the firms to accept cash deposits or issue loans, limiting their activities compared with traditional commercial banks.
At present, Anchorage Digital is the only crypto-focused company holding a national trust bank charter. The OCC currently oversees around 60 national trust banks in total.
“New entrants into the federal banking system benefit consumers, strengthen competition, and support economic growth,” said Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency.
The approvals come despite opposition from parts of the banking industry, which had urged the OCC to reject several applications. Critics argued that national trust charters could enable crypto firms to operate under lighter regulatory standards, potentially increasing systemic risk.
The move aligns with broader shifts in U.S. crypto policy under President Donald Trump, who has pushed for sweeping changes to cryptocurrency regulation after receiving strong backing from the digital asset industry during his campaign.
