Coinbase Secures Final OCC Approval for National Trust Company
Coinbase announced on November 9, 2026, that it had received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Coinbase National Trust Company. The charter puts its trust activities, including cryptocurrency custody, under federal supervision without authorizing a conventional commercial banking business.
Layla Haddad
Custody operations to move from New York trust
Coinbase plans to transfer its entire custody business from Coinbase Custody Trust Company, its New York limited-purpose trust, to the new national trust company during a three-year de novo period, according to Blockchain Reporter. If that period began with the April 2026 conditional approval, the transfer would be due around April 2029.
The federal authorization follows several stages of regulatory review. Crypto Briefing reports that Coinbase applied on October 3, 2025, and received conditional approval on April 2, 2026. The company then spent months meeting the OCC's remaining requirements.
Coinbase's existing regulatory structure dates back to a BitLicense issued by the New York Department of Financial Services in 2017 and approval for its New York limited-purpose trust in 2018. The company describes the federal charter as a milestone for a custody business that it says has served institutional clients for more than 14 years, including major financial services firms.
The business held $245.7 billion in institutional custody assets as of mid-2025, according to Crypto Briefing. Across Coinbase's platform, total assets reached $376 billion at the end of 2025. Research cited by the publication puts that platform-wide figure at more than 12% of global crypto market capitalization.
Rick Schonberg will serve as the national trust company's CEO and a director, with Alesia Haas serving as CFO and a director. The board also includes Gregory Tusar and Paul Grewal, alongside independent directors Dana Wagner, Brian Dong and Robert Easton, Blockchain Reporter reports.
Authority for trust services, not full-service banking
Coinbase's application includes plans for custody and payment services. Bloomberg reported that the charter could also support stablecoin activities, including token issuance and management on behalf of other cryptocurrency companies.
The authorization has clear limits: Coinbase National Trust Company cannot take deposits from the general public or provide traditional commercial loans. Coinbase argues that consistent federal supervision can bring digital asset custody closer to established financial services infrastructure as institutional participation grows.
The OCC also granted the charter on the understanding that the trust company would apply for stock in a Federal Reserve Bank under 12 USC 222, according to Blockchain Reporter. That stock is a membership requirement, not a Federal Reserve master account. The decision does not describe payment-system access of the kind associated with commercial banks.
Other crypto firms pursue federal charters
Coinbase follows Circle, which completed the same conditional-to-final approval process in July 2026, according to Blockchain Reporter. Ripple received conditional OCC approval on December 12, 2025, followed by final approval on October 26, 2026, Crypto Briefing reports. That publication estimates the market capitalization of Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin at $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion.
Galaxy Digital has also sought a national trust charter to expand its regulated financial services, while World Liberty Financial previously received conditional approval for a trust bank charter.
Crypto Briefing connects this interest in trust charters to the GENIUS Act. Signed into law in July 2025, the act established a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers. National trust banks are among the structures the OCC is using to bring issuers and custodians into that framework.
Chartering authority faces a legal challenge
The expansion of federal trust charters has met opposition from parts of the banking industry. In October 2026, the Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC over the framework, according to Blockchain Reporter. The lawsuit challenges how the agency interprets its chartering authority and, by extension, the approvals issued under it.
Separate rulemaking for digital asset businesses also remains unfinished. The SEC has proposed revisions to broker-dealer capital requirements, protections for customer assets and recordkeeping obligations for firms handling digital assets. Those proposals are still subject to the regulatory process.
