A coalition of community banks led by the Independent Community Bankers of America filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 2, 2026. The suit challenges the OCC's authority to issue national trust charters to crypto-focused firms, arguing the regulator exceeded its statutory authority under the National Bank Act.
The legal action specifically targets the OCC's March 2026 final rule, the 2021 Interpretive Letter No. 1176, and the conditional approval granted to Protego Holdings Corp. The ICBA contends that national trust charters should be reserved for institutions that conduct traditional fiduciary and trust administration, not non-depository crypto custody, brokerage, or lending operations.
In February 2026, the OCC granted conditional national trust bank charters to Stripe's Bridge National Trust Bank, Crypto.com's Foris DAX, and a Protego subsidiary. Applications from other firms, including Payward, Circle, and Ripple, were also noted. Unlike insured commercial banks, these trust entities are not covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, leading the community banks to argue that the framework creates unfair competitive asymmetry and consumer protection gaps concerning market volatility, fraud, and cybersecurity.
The lawsuit is not the only scrutiny facing the OCC's chartering approach. In May 2026, Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned authorizations issued to at least nine digital asset companies, and the Bank Policy Institute reportedly reviewed potential litigation on similar grounds in March 2026. If the court rules against the OCC, existing charters could be reassessed and pending applications halted, potentially pushing crypto firms back to a patchwork of state licensing regimes and increasing operational complexity.
The dispute underscores that institutional custody infrastructure for digital assets remains legally contested even as the Bitcoin network itself continues to operate independently of federal charter decisions.
