The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approvals to five digital asset firms – Ripple, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo and Paxos – to become federally chartered national trust banks, marking an important milestone in the integration of cryptocurrency into traditional finance.
The approvals, announced Friday, allow the companies to convert from state trust charters to federal status, provided the OCC’s conditions are met.
Once completed, these institutions will join approximately 60 other national trust banks regulated by the OCC in gaining the ability to offer trust and custody services nationwide.
Unlike larger national banks, trust banks cannot accept cash deposits or make loans, but they can store and manage customers’ digital assets.
‘Huge news’ for crypto
Circle, issuer of the $78 billion USDC stablecoin, said the charter would improve security and regulatory oversight of its reserves while enabling fiduciary custody of digital assets for institutional clients.
CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasized that the federal charter would provide “greater clarity and confidence” to institutions that build on Circle’s platform as stablecoins gain mainstream adoption.
Paxos, known for PYUSD and the consortium-backed Global Dollar (USDG), said federal oversight would allow companies to issue, store, trade and settle digital assets with clarity and confidence.
The firm, which has operated under a New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) charter since 2015, first applied for a federal charter in 2020.
BitGo, a South Dakota-based crypto custodian, said the federal charter would allow it to expand services nationwide, including trading, staking, stablecoin and institutional government bonds. BitGo has also filed to go public and reported $4.19 billion in revenue for the first half of 2025, up from $1.12 billion in the same period in 2024.
The approvals reflect a broader trend toward federal oversight of digital assets after Anchorage Digital became the first federally chartered crypto bank in the United States. Other firms, including Coinbase, Bridge (owned by Stripe) and Crypto.com, have also applied for federal charters.
OCC Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould emphasized that new entrants to the federal banking industry benefit consumers, promote competition and foster innovation.
“The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure that the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and supports a modern economy,” Gould said.