Coinbase got conditional approval from the OCC for its trust, a step toward federal oversight for its offerings to replace the current state by state licensing approach.<\/p>\n
Coinbase announced on Thursday<\/a> that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Coinbase National Trust Company, a non-insured national trust bank to be headquartered in New York. <\/p>\n The approval marks a step toward Coinbase operating as a federally regulated digital asset custodian \u2014 and the latest milestone in a sweeping regulatory shift reshaping how crypto firms interact with the U.S. banking system.<\/p>\n The preliminary green light requires Coinbase to build out compliance systems, hire key staff, pass regulatory reviews, and demonstrate strong risk management and anti-money-laundering controls before it can secure a full charter. <\/p>\n A national trust bank charter gives Coinbase a single federal regulator \u2014 the OCC \u2014 in place of the patchwork of state money transmitter licenses it currently holds, allowing it to offer custody, safekeeping, and related digital asset services in a fiduciary capacity as a qualified custodian under SEC regulations. <\/p>\n In yesterday\u2019s blog post, the largest U.S. centralized exchange noted that it does not plan to become a commercial bank:<\/p>\n \u201cCoinbase is not becoming a commercial bank. We will not be taking retail deposits. We will not be engaging in fractional reserve banking.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Looking ahead, Coinbase’s chief legal officer told CNBC<\/a> that the company plans to explore payment infrastructure products alongside its custody business, with an eye on expanding stablecoin use \u2014 particularly USDC \u2014 as a mainstream global payment method.<\/p>\n Coinbase joins a crowded field of crypto firms racing<\/a> to secure federal charters under the OCC’s current leadership.<\/p>\n Circle applied for its own national trust bank license<\/a> \u2014 to be called First National Digital Currency Bank \u2014 and received conditional approval in December 2025. Crypto.com similarly secured conditional OCC approval<\/a> for its Foris Dax National Trust Bank in February. <\/p>\n