Key Highlights
- The OCC has granted Coinbase preliminary authorization to form Coinbase National Trust Company
- This charter focuses exclusively on digital asset custody and infrastructure services—excluding retail deposit-taking
- Several administrative requirements must be satisfied before the charter becomes operational
- The federal designation is anticipated to attract more institutional clients
- Coinbase’s current New York state trust license and BitLicense continue operating without interruption
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted Coinbase (COIN) preliminary authorization to launch Coinbase National Trust Company, a federally regulated trust institution.
$COIN | Coinbase Gains Conditional Approval for U.S. Trust Charter
👉 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
➤ Coinbase receives 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 approval for national trust charter.
➤ Approval granted by the 𝐎𝐂𝐂 for crypto custody expansion.
➤ Charter enables operation… https://t.co/WWTBhWzvHx
— Hardik Shah (@AIStockSavvy) April 2, 2026
This OCC authorization centers on custody operations and market infrastructure services. The company will not accept consumer deposits or function as a conventional fractional reserve banking institution under this arrangement.
According to Greg Tusar, Co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, the authorization delivers “federal regulatory uniformity to the custody and market infrastructure business we have been building for years.”
The cryptocurrency exchange filed its national trust charter application with the OCC in October. Coinbase currently maintains a limited-purpose trust license issued by the New York Department of Financial Services, which authorizes state-level digital asset custody operations through Coinbase Prime, its institutional division.
The federal charter expands those capabilities. “We’re the custodian to over 80% of the world’s digital asset ETFs, but there are a number of other asset managers and hedge funds and others that would like to see the entity that they face have this kind of charter,” Tusar explained.
Simply put, federal recognition provides access to clients that state-level licensing alone cannot accommodate.
According to its charter filing, Coinbase’s institutional division oversaw $245.7 billion in assets under management as of June 2025—representing approximately 7% of the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization.
Outstanding Requirements Before Final Approval
Preliminary authorization differs from final operational clearance. Before the charter takes effect, Coinbase must convene its inaugural board meeting, formalize corporate bylaws, implement payment infrastructure, and successfully complete a pre-launch OCC examination.
The company confirmed it will collaborate directly with OCC regulators to fulfill these outstanding conditions.
Meanwhile, the company’s existing NYDFS BitLicense and state trust charter remain active and unchanged. Coinbase, Inc. continues standard operations under New York financial services supervision.
Additional Applicants Pursuing Federal Charters
Coinbase isn’t the only digital asset firm pursuing this regulatory pathway. The OCC issued conditional approvals to multiple cryptocurrency companies toward the end of last year, including BitGo, Circle Internet Group, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple, and Paxos.
In more recent developments, Morgan Stanley, EDX Markets (backed by Citadel Securities), and World Liberty Financial—the Trump family’s most significant cryptocurrency initiative—have also submitted applications for national trust charters.
The federal charter framework also creates opportunities for additional payment solutions and associated financial offerings, targeting both institutional partners and individual customers as primary users.
While Congress has moved forward with market structure legislation, federal supervision of cryptocurrency custodians has remained inconsistent. This OCC authorization addresses that regulatory void for institutional services without requiring comprehensive legislative reform.
