Coinbase Wins Conditional OCC Approval for Federal Trust Bank Charter

Coinbase has secured conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Coinbase National Trust Company, a move that would place its custody business under a federal regulatory framework. The OCC charter is designed for safeguarding assets rather than traditional commercial banking. Coinbase said the trust company will not accept retail deposits and will not operate under a fractional-reserve model. According to the company, the approval primarily covers its existing custody and market infrastructure operations, shifting oversight from a state-by-state regime to OCC supervision. Greg Tusar, Co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, said the charter is intended to bring "federal regulatory uniformity" to the custody and market infrastructure business the firm has developed over several years. Because the authorization is conditional, Coinbase must still meet additional OCC requirements before the charter becomes fully effective. The company said it will work with OCC staff as it completes the process. Coinbase's 2015 New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) BitLicense and its existing state trust charter will remain in place. Coinbase, Inc. will continue to operate under NYDFS oversight. The federal trust charter also lays groundwork for new payment products and related financial services, which Tusar said could benefit both institutional partners and individual customers. While Congress has moved forward with market structure legislation, federal oversight of crypto custodians has remained fragmented. The OCC decision narrows that gap for institutional custody without waiting for comprehensive legislation. Attention now turns to how quickly Coinbase can clear the remaining conditions and whether other major exchanges seek similar federal charters.