OCC Grants Five Conditional National Trust Bank Charters, Clearing Path for Stablecoin Issuers
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Dec. 12 granted conditional approvals for five national trust bank charters, expanding federal oversight of crypto-focused banks. Approved were First National Digital Currency Bank (linked to Circle/USDC), Ripple National Trust Bank, and conversions to national charters for BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company. These entities—stablecoin issuers or custodians for USDC, USDS, PYUSD and RLUSD—will be allowed to custody their own digital assets under OCC supervision. National trust banks cannot take retail cash deposits or make loans but can provide custody, asset management and payment-settlement services across all states without separate state licenses. The OCC’s approvals are conditional: firms must meet specified capital, governance and risk-management requirements before final charters are granted. The move follows earlier OCC steps (including Anchorage’s 2021 charter and approval of “riskless principal” crypto‑asset transactions) and accompanies related industry developments: the SEC issued a no-action letter to The Depository Trust Company for a voluntary securities-tokenization pilot (targeted H2 2026 for Russell 1000 equities, U.S. Treasuries and major ETFs), and JPMorgan launched MONY, an Ethereum tokenized money-market fund investable with cash or USDC. Banking trade groups including the American Bankers Association and Bank Policy Institute criticized the approvals, warning of blurred regulatory boundaries, unresolved supervision and resolution questions, and potential systemic risk. Implications for traders: allowing issuers and custodians to self-custody under federal charters can reduce counterparty risk for stablecoins and encourage greater institutional on‑chain activity, potentially improving liquidity and market depth for assets tied to these providers. However, heightened regulatory scrutiny, legal challenges and industry pushback create uncertainty that could drive episodic volatility around related stablecoins and platforms.
Bullish
The approvals are net bullish for the mentioned stablecoins and related on‑chain liquidity over the medium term. Allowing issuers and custodians (Circle/USDC, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple-linked entities, Fidelity) to operate under federal national trust charters and custody their own digital assets reduces counterparty and custody risk — a key barrier for institutional counterparties. Greater institutional confidence should increase demand for on-chain stablecoin liquidity and tokenized products (e.g., JPMorgan’s MONY, DTC tokenization pilot), supporting tighter spreads and higher volumes for assets tied to these issuers. In the short term, however, the news brings regulatory scrutiny and industry pushback from banking groups; that uncertainty can produce episodic volatility or sell-the-news reactions in the related stablecoins and tokenized products. Overall, the structural improvement to custody and clearer federal oversight, if final charters are granted and conditions met, tilts the outlook positive for institutional adoption and on‑chain market depth, hence a bullish categorization.