Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
-
U.S.-based crypto exchange, Coinbase, has received a conditional approval for a national trust company charter.
-
Coinbase, alongside Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle are among the other crypto firms to have applied.
OCC Issues Conditional Approval for National Trust Charter to Coinbase
Coinbase, the leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has received conditional approval for a national trust company charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as confirmed in a recent statement.
"This approval marks a significant step in bringing consistent federal regulations to the custody and market infrastructure we have been developing over the years," Coinbase stated. "With this conditional approval, we are now poised to advance the next phase of finance, backed by the regulatory clarity needed by our partners, customers, and the broader market."
Coinbase is one of several firms applying for this charter, with other notable companies such as Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle also seeking approval. Additionally, Bridge, the stablecoin platform owned by Stripe, was granted conditional approval last month.
Although Coinbase is not aiming to become a bank, the company's Vice President of Institutional Product emphasized that "an OCC charter will streamline regulatory oversight for new offerings and support the ongoing integration of digital assets into traditional finance."
Coinbase clarified, "We will not be accepting retail deposits or participating in fractional reserve banking," in a statement released Thursday.
This approval arrives at a time when Coinbase and other crypto supporters are actively engaging in discussions about new digital asset legislation in Washington, D.C. The legislation in focus, the Clarity Act, is currently stalled in the Senate and aims to bring more regulatory certainty to digital asset investing.
