PRESS RELEASE | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Announces

In granting these conditional approvals, the OCC applied the same rigorous review and standards it applies to all charter applications. The OCC carefully reviewed each application, based on its individual merits, consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory factors. 

“New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould.

“They provide access to new products, services and sources of credit to consumers, and ensure a dynamic, competitive and diverse banking system. The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and supports a modern economy.”

REGULATION | The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Clears National Banks to Act as Intermediaries in Crypto Transactions

The OCC conditionally approved applications for de novo national trust bank charters for:

• First National Digital Currency Bank (by Circle) and
• Ripple National Trust Bank.

The OCC also conditionally approved applications to convert from a state trust company to a national trust bank for:

• BitGo Bank & Trust National Association,
• Fidelity Digital Assets National Association and
• Paxos Trust Company, National Association.

The federal banking system includes more than 1,000 national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches of foreign banking organizations operating in the United States that range in size from 1,000 smaller community banks under $30 billion in assets focused on meeting local needs to the largest internationally active banks.

These banking companies conduct a wide array of businesses that range from retail and wholesale banking activity to trust, credit card and other more narrowly focused services.

The institutions that make up the federal banking system conduct approximately 67 percent of the banking activity in the United States, hold more than $17 trillion in assets combined and administer more than $85 trillion under their control.

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