The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has conditionally approved five national trust bank charter applications from prominent digital asset companies, marking a significant step toward integrating crypto services into the federal banking system. The approvals, announced on December 12, 2025, include de novo (brand new) charters for Ripple National Trust Bank and First National Digital Currency Bank (Circle). Additionally, the OCC granted conditional approval for BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company to convert their existing state-level trust charters into national ones.
These conditional approvals allow the firms to move forward, provided they meet specific regulatory requirements set by the OCC. This is standard practice, enabling the regulator to ensure full compliance with federal banking rules before operations commence. OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould stated, "New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy. The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and supports a modern economy."
The approval grants Ripple a formal presence within the U.S. federal banking system, which is expected to facilitate broader services for both crypto and traditional finance clients. The move integrates these major crypto firms into a system comprising over 1,000 national banks, which collectively control approximately $17 trillion in assets and manage $85 trillion in trust assets.
