OCC Gives Five Crypto Firms a Conditional Step Toward U.S. Trust Bank Status

Crypto has spent years trying to look less like a weekend hobby and more like infrastructure. On December 12, 2025, a U.S. banking regulator took a clear step in that direction. It issued conditional approvals that could change how stablecoin reserves and digital-asset custody are handled in the United States. The story sounds technical, but it reaches anyone who touches a stablecoin.

The Move in Plain Terms

A national trust bank can hold assets, act as a trustee, and offer custody on a fiduciary basis. It cannot take deposits or make loans. That narrower scope is the point. A trust charter gives institutions a familiar, supervised wrapper for custody and settlement.

Why Identity Rules Sit at the Center of This Story?

Crypto users have a long history of preferring tools that cut down the paperwork. Looking at the guides for no ID verification casinos, we can see that they describe no-KYC casinos as platforms that let players access the full game library without submitting documents, with a big emphasis on instant registration, fast banking, and quicker withdrawals that skip “invasive” checks. That same preference toward low-friction crypto use helps explain why the OCC’s trust-bank move matters, because it signals where regulated custody and stablecoin reserves may be heading next. 

OCC Opens the Door to National Trust Banks for Crypto Firms

Against that backdrop, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved two new national trust bank charters tied to Circle’s First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank. It also approved conversions to national trust banks for BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. The regulator calls these preliminary approvals, and each firm still has to meet pre-opening requirements before it can commence business. 

Circle is quite popular as the issuer of USDC. Ripple is famous for its XRP and newer stablecoin project RLUSD. Supporters frame the charters as a cleaner route to nationwide operations. Critics argue that trust charters give nonbanks a faster way into the federal system. 

Ripple’s decision letter shows what that structure could support. The proposed bank plans to manage a segregated reserve of liquid assets that underpins RLUSD and provide crypto custody services for institutional customers in a fiduciary capacity. It also notes that the approval can expire if the bank does not open within 18 months.

The timing makes sense when stablecoin usage is already enormous. An IMF note published stated stablecoin trading volume rose to $23 trillion in 2024, and that the two largest stablecoins reached a combined $260 billion market cap after tripling since 2023. 

What Happens Next?

A conditional approval is a green light that comes with a lengthy checklist attached. There are still ways to slow this down, such as pre-opening exams and risk limits. The direction is clear: more crypto infrastructure is being brought into channels under federal supervision. Even though it will take months of legal and operational work before any of this feels real to everyday users, the direction is clear.