The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has stated that digital asset companies conducting legally permissible activities should have a pathway into the U.S. national banking system. Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould announced on August 11 that the OCC is reinvigorating the de novo chartering process, having received 40 applications over the past 18 months, including many for national trust banks. “America and the OCC are once again open for business,” Gould said, signaling a clear regulatory shift.
The OCC’s current digital asset licensing list contains 13 pending applications from entities planning to offer crypto or other digital asset products. Notable applicants include Payward National Trust Company, World Liberty Trust Company, Revolut Bank US, PAYO Digital Bank, and EDX Trust. Several large crypto firms have already moved further: the OCC conditionally approved applications involving Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos in December 2025, with Coinbase receiving preliminary conditional approval in April. Circle’s First National Digital Currency Bank became effective on July 10.
Simultaneously, the FDIC announced a new two-phase review system for deposit insurance applications, targeting contingent authorization within 120 days for new entrants. While many crypto trust banks do not seek FDIC-insured deposits, Gould said the reform supports the broader effort to reverse the decline in new bank formation. Not all paths are automatic, however: the OCC denied Wise National Trust’s charter application on July 21, underscoring that approvals remain subject to rigorous review.
The expansion has faced resistance from lawmakers and banking groups. Senator Elizabeth Warren has questioned whether some crypto trust charters exceed the National Bank Act, and the Bank Policy Institute has challenged individual applications, such as Payward’s. Despite this, the OCC’s stance represents a significant opening for crypto firms to gain a federal banking foothold, potentially streamlining custody, settlement, and other services under a single regulator rather than a patchwork of state regimes.
