Five major crypto firms received conditional approval Friday to become national trust banks in the most sweeping federal action yet to bring stablecoin issuers under direct banking supervision.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency cleared Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos for trust charters.
The December 12 approvals position the companies to join roughly 60 federally regulated trust institutions once they meet final conditions.
What Happened
Circle's First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank obtained de novo charter approvals.
BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos won approval to convert existing state trust charters to national status.
"New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy," Comptroller Jonathan Gould said in the OCC statement.
The charters enable custody services, digital asset management and fiduciary activities under federal supervision.
Anchorage Digital remains the only other crypto firm holding a federal bank charter, which it received in 2020.
Circle's $78 billion USDC stablecoin would gain enhanced regulatory oversight under the new structure.
Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, with approximately $1.3 billion market cap, would also operate under federal standards.
Paxos operates under New York Department of Financial Services supervision and first applied for federal charter in 2020.
The company manages $3.8 billion PYUSD and $1.4 billion Global Dollar stablecoin.
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Why It Matters
The approvals signal a regulatory turning point for crypto banking under the Trump administration.
Charter applications surged to 14 in 2025 compared to fewer than four per year historically between 2011 and 2024.
The GENIUS Act created the regulatory framework that prompted stablecoin issuers including Coinbase to seek federal oversight.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the move "huge news" that represents a "massive step" for regulatory integration.
BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said the development "marks an official end to the war on crypto."
The OCC issued a debanking report Thursday arguing all nine largest banks inappropriately severed ties with legal crypto businesses.
National trust banks cannot offer the same deposit and lending capabilities as full commercial banks.
However, they provide cross-state operations under unified federal supervision rather than navigating state-by-state licensing.
The stablecoin market has grown to $313 billion in 2025, up more than $100 billion since January.
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