OCC signs off on Coinbase's national trust bank charter

What happened

Coinbase, the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, says it now has the OCC's final green light to operate as a national trust bank. The signoff came last week, following a conditional nod in April, and moves the company from state-based regulation into a federal framework. The OCC did not provide comment before publication when asked.

Numerous crypto companies sought national trust charters, with many receiving preliminary approvals while President Donald Trump was in his second term, but only a limited number have finished the process to date, including Coinbase, Circle Internet Group and Ripple.

What the charter changes

In its filing, Coinbase said the charter will help grow its custody arm and expand into payments. People familiar with the plan say it could also broaden the stablecoin business, allowing Coinbase to issue its own tokens and assist other crypto companies with issuing and managing them.

This move plugs Coinbase into more of Wall Street's plumbing. A trust charter is narrower than a full bank charter. Trust banks cannot take standard deposits or make loans like conventional lenders, but they do handle fiduciary and custody work that is central to the financial system.

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Coinbase's stablecoin and payments push

Chief executive Brian Armstrong says Coinbase is already the world's largest crypto custodian. Even before this charter, the company expanded into payments and into stablecoins - cryptocurrencies meant to mirror the value of assets like the U.S. dollar.

Recent steps include a partnership with Citigroup for fiat to stablecoin conversions and, last month, a tie up with Ripple to bring that company's stablecoin onto Coinbase platforms. On USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, Coinbase splits revenue with Circle.

Why it matters for your portfolio

"Our approval shows that crypto is here to stay and we are building the institutions to match," said Ryan VanGrack, Coinbase's vice chairman, in an interview. "And it shows we are more connected to our federal regulatory infrastructure, something we've long championed. That's precisely how crypto gets integrated into our financial system." If Coinbase uses the charter to scale custody, payments, and stablecoin services, that could further blend crypto rails into traditional finance, with implications for fees, liquidity, and counterparty risk across the sector.

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