Overview
- Coinbase confirmed it applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust charter and said it has no intention of becoming a bank.
- The trust charter would enable payments and settlement under federal oversight but does not permit deposits or lending and customer accounts typically lack FDIC insurance.
- A federal charter would complement Coinbase Custody Trust Company’s New York BitLicense and allow new services to launch without state-by-state approvals.
- Circle, Ripple, Paxos and BitGo have similar applications, Anchorage Digital is the only holder to date, and Ripple has also sought a Federal Reserve master account.
- Banking groups have criticized the push, arguing trust charters could confer deposit‑like powers without full rulemaking, while Coinbase shares rose about 2% on the news.