Coinbase gets final OCC charter approval
Key insight: Coinbase says it can now operate across a single federal framework and expand its stablecoin and payments services.
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Supporting data: The OCC has approved or conditionally approved nearly two dozen national trust bank charters during the second Trump administration, including north of a dozen for crypto firms.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday gave crypto giant Coinbase final regulatory approval for its ability to operate under a federal banking charter, according to a Monday announcement from the company.
Rick Schonberg, head of prime trading and custody at Coinbase, said the approval will allow the company to operate its cryptocurrency business across a predictable federal framework after “years asking for clear rules and rigorous oversight.”
“The OCC’s approval … allows us to expand our custody capabilities within a consistent federal regulatory framework,” Schonberg wrote in a release. “As digital assets become more connected to the financial system, clear and consistent oversight matters. This approval is a step toward aligning digital-asset custody with the infrastructure that individuals and institutions know and rely on.”
The approval is the latest for a string of more than a dozen cryptocurrency firms — and as many fintech companies — that have sought national trust charters under the more digital asset-friendly posture adopted by the Trump administration. The OCC has approved or conditionally approved nearly two dozen new national trust bank charters during the second Trump administration.
Coinbase, the largest American crypto company, has operated under state crypto licenses for nearly a decade, including through the New York Bitlicense and the state’s limited-purpose trust charter license. Spokespeople for the company, when reached for comment, said the federal framework has become increasingly important as the digital assets industry evolves. Coinbase, along with four other firms, were some of the first applications the OCC
The way the company sees it, a federal special-purpose bank charter provides firms two main advantages: the exemption from some state financial laws under federal preemption afforded OCC-regulated entities and clear rules of the road under the agency’s
The wave of charter approvals has sparked a legal fight because it allows crypto companies to operate like banks without traditional bank regulatory requirements and that assets consumers hold at trusts are not protected by federal deposit insurance. That debate has culminated in a banking industry-led
The litigation and appeals process may take years, and a court would also have to determine what remedy is appropriate for institutions that were chartered under the OCC’s disputed interpretation. The court could impose tighter restrictions on the existing institutions or reverse the OCC’s interpretation if its independent reading of the statute ultimately differs from the agency.
