Coinbase secures OCC national trust charter as US Senate scrutiny grows
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted final approval for Coinbase's national trust company, while lawmakers requested internal records on crypto charter decisions.
Key takeaways
- 1Coinbase received final OCC approval on Nov. 9 for its national trust company following preliminary clearance in April.
- 2Sen. Elizabeth Warren requested OCC records on May 18 regarding at least nine crypto trust-charter approvals.
- 3Sen. Richard Blumenthal set a Jan. 4, 2027 deadline for Binance, Tether, and two Trump-linked ventures to provide records.
Coinbase received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Nov. 9 to open its national trust company, securing a single federal supervisory structure for its custody operations. The decision follows preliminary conditional clearance granted by the US banking regulator in April.
Coinbase said the charter allows its custody business to operate under a uniform federal framework instead of separate state licensing regimes. Federal regulators have expanded avenues for digital asset firms to operate under standard US banking rules.
A national trust charter permits an institution to offer asset custody across state lines under direct oversight from federal banking authorities. The structure establishes standardised compliance expectations for institutional crypto storage.
Congressional scrutiny over federal charter approvals has increased alongside the regulatory decisions. In a May 18 letter to the OCC, Sen. Elizabeth Warren questioned at least nine crypto trust-charter decisions, including Coinbase’s conditional clearance, demanding application files, legal analyses, and records of communications between banking officials and the White House.
Four days prior to Coinbase’s announcement, Sen. Richard Blumenthal renewed demands for internal records from Binance, Tether, and two ventures tied to Donald Trump. Blumenthal set a deadline of Jan. 4, 2027, for voluntary submission of compliance and operating records before his subcommittee considers further steps.
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