Coinbase Joins Circle, Ripple With Final OCC Approval for Federal Trust Bank Charter

Coinbase has received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Coinbase National Trust Company. The charter will allow it to expand its digital asset custody business under a federal framework, giving institutional clients a nationally consistent set of rules for those trust activities.

The OCC approved the application last Friday, seven months after granting conditional approval; Coinbase first applied last year. The company says it will not take retail deposits or operate as a fractional reserve bank. Coinbase joins Circle and Ripple, which have also received final approval for national trust banks, while other firms are awaiting decisions. The approvals face opposition from Senator Elizabeth Warren and a community bankers’ group that has sued the OCC.