🚨 **OCC Expands National Trust Bank Services: Ripple, Circle, Paxos Gain Path to U.S. Banking System**
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (#OCC) has amended its national bank chartering rules to explicitly allow trust banks to engage in non-fiduciary activities alongside traditional fiduciary services. The change provides #crypto firms with conditional trust charters—including #Ripple, #Circle, #Paxos, and #Cryptocom—a potential pathway to access the Federal banking system and payment rails.
🔑 **Key Points:**
🔹 **Regulatory Clarification**: OCC final rule removes ambiguity by confirming national trust banks can legally perform non-fiduciary activities in addition to fiduciary duties; crypto industry had actively lobbied for this clarification
🔹 **Non-Fiduciary Custody Operations**: Newly permitted activities include non-fiduciary custody (holding and administering client assets like securities and crypto) treated as incidental banking activities rather than trust duties; firms can custody assets without acting as fiduciaries
🔹 **Conditional Charter Holders**: Ripple, Circle, Paxos, and https://t.co/9qvil4NQHD have received conditional approval for national trust bank charters; expanded service scope enables these firms to integrate custody operations into traditional banking infrastructure once fully chartered
🔹 **Ripple Custody Expansion**: Ripple recently expanded custody services to include Ethereum and Solana staking through partnership with Figment; OCC rule change enables broader institutional custody offerings tied to banking access
🔹 **Fed “Skinny Master Accounts” In Development**: Fed Governor Chris Waller working on limited-access master accounts for crypto firms (restricted Fed payment rails access); hopes to release rules Q4 2026; Colorado Bankers Association warns of “expedited fraud” risks; banking industry opposes crypto access to Fed infrastructure
🔎 **Why It Matters:**
🔹 **Crypto-Banking Integration Milestone**: OCC rule change eliminates legal uncertainty preventing trust-chartered crypto firms from operating like traditional banks; creates regulatory foundation for stablecoin issuers and custody providers to access Federal banking system
🔹 **Ripple’s Strategic Positioning**: Ripple gains competitive advantage in institutional custody market by combining XRPL payment infrastructure with federally regulated banking services; positions company to serve traditional finance clients requiring regulated custody
🔹 **#Stablecoin Issuer Infrastructure**: #Circle (#USDC issuer) and Paxos (#PYUSD, #USDP issuers) can now offer banking-adjacent services under trust charters; enables direct integration of stablecoin issuance with Federal payment rails once skinny master accounts launch
🔹 **Traditional Finance Resistance**: Banking industry’s opposition to Fed payment rail access for crypto firms signals ongoing jurisdictional battle; Fed Governor Bowman’s commitment to crypto…
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