Coinbase Joins Ripple, Circle With Conditional OCC National Trust Charter Approval – Crypto News Bitcoin News
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Coinbase Moves Closer to Federal Crypto Custody With OCC Approval According to a Bloomberg report, the OCC granted the preliminary green light to Coinbase National Trust Company, which Coinbase filed to establish on Oct. 3, 2025. The application was listed as pending on the OCC’s Digital Assets Licensing Applications page until Thursday’s announcement. The charter is structured as a non-insured national trust company, meaning Coinbase will not take deposits or issue loans. The scope covers custody, staking, and related fiduciary and trust functions for institutional clients. Coinbase said the charter is about bringing federal regulatory consistency to its custody and market infrastructure operations. The company currently holds more than $245 billion in assets under custody through its existing New York Department of Financial Services-chartered custody business. Conditional approval is not final authorization. Before Coinbase can open and operate the national trust bank, it must satisfy a set of pre-opening requirements set by the OCC. Those conditions include anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programs, capital and liquidity standards, governance structures, risk management protocols, and an operating agreement with the regulator. Only after the OCC confirms those conditions are met will Coinbase be authorized to begin operations under the charter. The approval positions Coinbase to offer federally supervised custody services to large institutional clients who require that level of regulatory oversight before placing assets with a crypto firm. Federal charter status also carries preemption benefits, allowing Coinbase to operate under a single national framework rather than navigating custody regulations state by state. The OCC has been granting conditional national trust charters to crypto-native firms across 2025 and into 2026. Paxos received a conditional approval in December 2025. Circle, Ripple, Bitgo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Crypto.com are among others that have received similar preliminary clearances from the agency. Each company must independently…
Filed under: News - @ April 2, 2026 6:24 pm