In brief
- Crypto.com received conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter, enabling federally regulated digital asset custody, staking, and trade settlement.
- It joins a wave of crypto firms securing similar approvals, spurred by the OCC affirming banks can hold crypto assets and the signing of the GENIUS Act.
- Traditional banks are pushing back, urging slower approvals and more transparency, as tensions between the crypto and banking sectors continue to grow.
Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is the latest industry firm to receive conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust banking charter, it announced Monday.
Foris Dax National Trust Bank—aka Crypto.com National Trust Bank—is now federally regulated to offer services such as digital asset custody, staking custodied assets, and trade settlement. If fully approved, the firm can act as a federally regulated national trust bank under regulation from the OCC.
“This conditional approval is the latest testament to both our commitment to compliance and to providing customers trusted and secure services they expect from Crypto.com,” said co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek, in a statement. “This milestone brings us a major step closer to meeting leading institutions’ needs for a one-stop-shop qualified custodian under a gold standard of federal oversight.”
Crypto.com joins other crypto firms like Circle, Ripple, Paxos, and the Stripe-owned Bridge in receiving conditional OCC approval, while Coinbase and the President Trump-backed World Liberty Financial have also filed applications.
World Liberty’s request has faced pushback from House Democrats, who last week wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to warn of potential national security concerns given the connections to Trump and his family.
The wave of applications followed two key regulatory developments: The OCC’s May decision affirming that banks can hold crypto assets for customers, and the July signing of the GENIUS Act, which regulates stablecoin issuance and trading.
However, traditional banking lobbying groups are pushing back, urging the OCC to slow its charter approvals and ensure that proper safety standards are maintained. The American Bankers Association has also called for greater transparency in the application process.
Tensions between the banking industry and crypto sector have also spilled over into debates around the Clarity Act—a crypto market structure bill—particularly regarding stablecoin yields.
The stablecoin market has grown to nearly $309 billion in circulating supply, underscoring the sector’s increasing relevance to mainstream financial infrastructure.
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