OCC Trust Bank Charter Race: 11 Crypto Firms Filed in 83 Days
Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, and six other crypto firms filed for OCC national trust bank charters in 83 days after a key regulatory amendment.
Eleven companies filed for OCC national trust bank charters in 83 days. Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, Bridge (Stripe's stablecoin acquisition), Crypto.com, Protego, Morgan Stanley, Payoneer, and Zerohash have all submitted applications or received conditional approvals. Coinbase and World Liberty Financial have applications pending.
The rush was enabled by an OCC regulatory amendment that took effect April 1, 2026, replacing 'fiduciary activities' with 'operations of a trust company and activities related thereto' in 12 CFR 5.20. The change removes any ambiguity about whether national trust banks can hold assets in non-fiduciary custody accounts — a critical function for crypto custodians.
What the Charter Provides
The charter does not grant Fed master account access (Kraken's separate achievement), but it provides federal legitimacy, a single federal regulator, and federal preemption of state laws. Traditional banks have responded on two tracks: opposing expanded Fed access for chartered crypto firms and pushing back on the CLARITY Act's stablecoin yield provisions.
What This Means for Compliance
The OCC charter race signals that institutional crypto is moving to a federally regulated model. Compliance teams at traditional banks should assess the competitive implications; compliance teams at crypto firms should evaluate whether a federal charter fits their regulatory strategy.
OCC Charter Race FAQ
- Which firms have filed for OCC trust bank charters?
- Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, Bridge (Stripe's stablecoin acquisition), Crypto.com, Protego, Morgan Stanley, Payoneer, and Zerohash. Coinbase and World Liberty Financial have applications pending.
- What does the OCC amendment change?
- Effective April 1, 2026, the OCC replaced 'fiduciary activities' with 'operations of a trust company and activities related thereto' in 12 CFR 5.20 — removing any ambiguity about whether national trust banks can hold assets in non-fiduciary custody accounts.
- Does the charter grant Fed master account access?
- No. Fed master account access is a separate achievement (Kraken's). The OCC charter provides federal legitimacy, a single federal regulator, and federal preemption of state laws.
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