Crypto Firms Seek OCC Trust Charters to Access Fed Rails

More than a dozen crypto and fintech firms have applied for or received national trust bank charters from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Firms that have announced filings or conditional approvals include Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, BitGo and Kraken’s parent company Payward. Payward has applied to form the Payward National Trust Company to offer bank-level crypto custody for institutional and retail clients.

Conditional approvals and filings date back to December 12, 2025, when several firms received charters, with Crypto.com receiving approval in February 2026 and Coinbase receiving conditional approval on April 2, 2026. Anchorage Digital Bank remains the only crypto-native company fully operating as a national trust bank.

An OCC national trust bank charter allows a firm to offer custody and trust services under federal supervision. Charter applicants must meet capital requirements, complete compliance reviews and pass regulatory examinations before full approval. A charter does not automatically grant access to Federal Reserve accounts or direct entry to central payment rails.

Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller has said he is exploring whether a streamlined account structure could be created for such institutions. In March, Kraken’s banking unit was granted access to Federal Reserve payment services, the first crypto-linked banking entity to receive that access.

Companies seeking federal charters say the status would reduce reliance on partner banks that previously handled dollar transfers and payment processing. Firms have cited shrinking sponsor-bank relationships in recent years as a reason to pursue direct supervision and the ability to manage customer funds under one regulator.

In an announcement about the approvals, OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould wrote that new entrants into the federal banking system are “good for consumers, the banking industry, and the economy,” and said the office would continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services.

Regulatory approvals, technical integration with payment systems and operational readiness will determine how quickly chartered firms move from conditional status to full participation in U.S. custody and payment systems.