OCC Grants National Bank Charters to Circle, Ripple and Other Crypto Firms

Four stablecoin issuers have been granted conditional approval for national banking charters by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the agency said Friday. The OCC conditionally approved applications for new national banking charters for USDC issuer Circle’s First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank. The other three—BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company—already had state charters and were conditionally approved for conversions.

The companies are collectively responsible for issuing USDC, RLUSD, USDS, and PYUSD. Fidelity hasn’t yet issued a stablecoin, but was said to be testing in anticipation of a launch earlier this year. “New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” Jonathan V. Gould, Comptroller of the Currency, said in a press release.

“They provide access to new products, services and sources of credit to consumers, and ensure a dynamic, competitive and diverse banking system.” The five newly approved charters aren’t the first crypto firms to get OCC approval for national banking charters, though. That honorific belongs to Anchorage Digital Bank, which had its charter approved in 2021.