Ripple has secured a landmark conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter Ripple National Trust Bank. CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the development on December 12, 2025, calling it a "massive step forward" for the company's upcoming U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD.
The approval is conditional, meaning Ripple must still satisfy specific regulatory requirements before the bank becomes fully operational. The institution will be a de novo national trust bank, newly created rather than converted from an existing state entity. Its operations will be narrowly focused on providing trust services, including the issuance, management, and custody of digital assets like RLUSD. It will not engage in traditional commercial banking functions like taking public deposits or issuing loans.
This move places Ripple under direct federal supervision by the OCC, adding to its existing oversight from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Garlinghouse emphasized that this demonstrates Ripple's willingness to operate under the same strict rules as traditional financial institutions, countering critics who argue crypto companies avoid regulation. "What are you so afraid of?" he wrote, stating Ripple is prioritizing compliance, trust, and innovation.
The approval is part of a broader regulatory shift, with the OCC also moving forward on similar applications from other major digital asset firms like Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos on the same day. This signals growing acceptance of crypto-native institutions within the U.S. financial system.
For Ripple, this is a key step in its larger effort to secure a U.S. national bank charter and a Federal Reserve master account. If fully approved, this would grant Ripple access to U.S. payment infrastructure like Fedwire, allowing it to settle transactions directly in U.S. dollars and operate payment systems without relying on external banks. Ripple would become the first blockchain-native company with this level of access to the U.S. banking system.
Analysts and the XRP community suggest that achieving bank charter status could significantly strengthen Ripple's position in global payments by enabling faster, cheaper international settlements. This could increase the practical utility of XRP for cross-border liquidity and boost long-term institutional confidence in the token, as Ripple would operate as a regulated financial entity.
