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Coinbase gets its full federal trust bank charter, joining Ripple and Circle under OCC oversight
Summary
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has given Coinbase final approval for Coinbase National Trust Company, upgrading the conditional approval it received in April, the company said Monday, according to CoinDesk and Decrypt.
Decrypt reported the OCC signed off last Friday, and Cointelegraph said the charter took effect that day, citing the OCC; it lets the trust company hold digital assets for clients as a fiduciary.
Coinbase plans to bring its institutional custody business under the federal charter and is exploring digital asset payment products, but it is not becoming a commercial bank that takes retail deposits, the outlets reported.
Coinbase joins Ripple, Circle and others with full OCC trust charters, while the Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the OCC over the crypto approvals and Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called them illegal, according to CoinDesk and Decrypt.
Key facts
- CoinDesk: Coinbase said the OCC elevated Coinbase National Trust from its provisional April approval to a full charter after months of building compliance systems, hiring and regulatory scrutiny.
- Decrypt: Coinbase said the OCC approved the application last Friday; Cointelegraph, citing the OCC, said the charter took effect on Friday.
- Cointelegraph: Coinbase applied in October 2025 and got preliminary approval in April 2026; the charter allows the trust company to hold digital assets on behalf of clients as a fiduciary.
- Cointelegraph: per its application, Coinbase plans segregated custody accounts for institutions with access to staking, financing and trading through other Coinbase entities, and is exploring digital asset payment products.
- Decrypt: in April Coinbase said it was not becoming a commercial bank and would not take retail deposits or engage in fractional reserve banking.
- CoinDesk: Coinbase Vice Chairman Ryan VanGrack said, “We’ve spent years asking for clear rules and rigorous oversight, and today’s approval of our national trust charter puts more of our business behind that commitment.”
- Cointelegraph: other crypto firms with OCC national trust charters include Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos; Crypto.com and Bridge have conditional approval, and Kraken and EDX Markets are still pursuing charters.
- Decrypt: Sen. Elizabeth Warren has argued the OCC's crypto charter approvals are illegal, and the Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the OCC to stop crypto firms entering banking.
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