Coinbase National Trust receives final OCC approval, opening the door to federally regulated crypto custody for institutional clients.
Author: Akshay
High attention and emotional sentiment detected.
9th November 2026 – The Coinbase national trust charter is now live, after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted final approval and the new entity became effective on November 6.
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Coinbase announced the milestone on Sunday through a tweet and a company blog post. The approval turns Coinbase National Trust Company into a federally regulated custodian for institutional clients.
Importantly, this is not Coinbase becoming a traditional bank. The entity cannot take retail deposits, make loans, or run fractional-reserve banking. It also carries no FDIC insurance.
Coinbase National Trust Company, or CNTC, is a de novo non-insured national trust bank. Coinbase Global, Inc. is the holding company, and the charter number is 25390.
Its approved powers are fiduciary. Primarily, the entity can hold digital assets in custody for institutional clients under 12 USC 92a and 12 CFR 5.26. In addition, it can accept, hold, and transfer custodied fiat and digital assets in custodial accounts.
The charter also lets CNTC act as a finder. So it can point custody clients toward affiliate products like staking, Prime Trading, and Prime Financing, but only for assets already in custody.
Notably, the OCC decision letter did not permit stablecoin issuance. Some outlets have speculated about future stablecoin powers, yet the April approval explicitly ruled that out.
The timeline stretched over a year. First, the OCC received the application on October 3, 2025. Then it issued preliminary conditional approval on April 2, 2026, through Corporate Decision #1370.
That conditional approval came with strings attached. For example, CNTC needed $60 million in tier 1 capital plus a liquidity buffer covering 180 days of operating expenses. The OCC also required senior officer approvals, activity limits, and 60-day notice for material changes.
Next came months of compliance work, hiring, and a pre-opening exam. Because CNTC met those conditions, the charter consummated on November 6, according to the OCC Corporate Applications Search. Finally, Coinbase went public with the news three days later.
Coinbase already runs the largest institutional custody business in crypto. The platform held roughly $376 billion in assets at the end of 2025, per Forbes, and it custodies most U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Until now, that business leaned on state licenses. Coinbase holds a New York BitLicense from 2017 and a New York limited-purpose trust charter for Coinbase Custody Trust Company from 2018. Both sit under NYDFS, and both remain in place.
The Coinbase national trust charter adds a federal layer on top. As a result, institutions get uniform OCC supervision instead of a patchwork of state rules. This federal status could also strengthen “qualified custodian” recognition under SEC rules for institutional clients.
Still, the migration will take time. The application referenced a multi-year transition for moving the existing custody book over to the federal entity.
Coinbase Vice Chairman Ryan VanGrack framed the approval as a regulatory win. “We’ve spent years asking for clear rules and rigorous oversight, and today’s approval of our national trust charter puts more of our business behind that commitment,” he said, according to CoinDesk.
VanGrack added that the move ties the company closer to federal oversight. “This approval shows that digital assets have become a permanent part of the financial system,” he said in remarks reported by Bloomberg.
Earlier, during the conditional approval period, Coinbase Institutional executive Greg Tusar stressed the limits. He said the charter does not mean becoming a commercial bank, and it will not involve retail deposits or fractional-reserve banking.
Coinbase is not alone here. The OCC has handed national trust charters to a string of crypto firms since the 2024 election and the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework.
Anchorage Digital secured a full charter earlier. Since then, Circle, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets have moved through the process. Ripple received conditional approval in December 2025 and reportedly a full charter around October 26, 2026.
The trend has drawn pushback, too. The Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the OCC, arguing the agency overstepped its authority by granting these crypto-related trust charters.
From Anchorage Digital’s landmark 2021 approval to the 2025-2026 charter wave, the OCC has expanded the path for crypto firms to operate as federally regulated national trust banks.
The OCC conditionally approves the conversion of Anchorage Trust Company into Anchorage Digital Bank, National Association, making it the first crypto-native firm to receive a national trust bank charter. It later becomes the first operating crypto national trust bank.
The OCC conditionally approves Protego Trust Company’s conversion into Protego Trust Bank, National Association. The firm fails to meet pre-conversion requirements within the 18-month window, and the approval expires around early 2023.
The OCC grants preliminary conditional approval for a de novo Paxos National Trust. The earlier approval does not lead to a timely opening and later lapses, before Paxos pursues a fresh conversion application.
Coinbase files a de novo application to establish Coinbase National Trust Company, seeking a federal trust charter for its institutional digital-asset custody business.
The OCC issues conditional approvals for Circle’s national trust bank, Ripple National Trust Bank, and conversions involving BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. Paxos’s conversion becomes effective around this date, while Circle and Ripple later receive final approvals.
The OCC grants additional conditional approvals, including Bridge (Stripe) National Trust Bank on February 12 and Crypto.com / Foris DAX on February 20. The Protego-related National Digital Trust Company also receives preliminary conditional approval on February 13.
Under Corporate Decision #1370, the OCC grants preliminary conditional approval to Coinbase National Trust Company. The proposed activities focus on trust and fiduciary services, primarily digital-asset custody, rather than retail deposits, lending, or stablecoin issuance.
Circle’s national trust bank receives final approval after its earlier conditional approval, advancing its path toward federally regulated trust operations.
Ripple National Trust Bank receives final approval, completing another major step in the 2025-2026 wave of crypto-focused national trust charters.
OCC records show Coinbase National Trust Company’s charter was consummated on November 6. Coinbase publicly announces the development on November 9, marking its transition to a federally chartered trust company.
Coinbase’s next milestones include meeting any remaining operating conditions and transitioning institutional custody activities. Its application materials reference a multi-year migration from its existing New York limited-purpose trust structure.
Further implementation of GENIUS Act rules, ongoing capital and liquidity requirements, and OCC supervision will shape the operating framework for crypto-focused trust banks. Other applicants remain at various stages of review or conditional approval, while litigation challenging the OCC’s charter approach remains a broader regulatory risk.
The announcement landed in a soft market. COIN closed November 6 near $134.76, down about 1.5% that day, and pre-market trading on November 9 slipped further to roughly $131 to $132.
Broader crypto looked weak at the same time. Bitcoin traded near $74,000 amid significant liquidations, and the Coinbase news did not spark an obvious price pop. Volume stayed close to recent averages.
This is not financial advice. Prices cited here are snapshots from real-time trackers and can move quickly.
The charter is now effective, but the operational rollout is just starting. Watch for CNTC’s custody migration schedule, any new payment products, and how GENIUS Act rules might expand stablecoin activity over time.
For now, the Coinbase national trust charter cements the company as a federally supervised custodian. The next test will be how fast Coinbase moves its institutional business under the new federal roof.
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Oldman Crypto
@OldmanScalping
@coinbase Coinbase in a suit with a federal charter? That is a whole new look, darling. Oldman is charmed, and maybe a little intimidated.
Introducing Coinbase National Trust Company, our federally chartered trust company. OCC approved. https://t.co/jhqyDdFyLk
11:53 AM·Nov 9, 2026
Tizzy🐼
@Tizzy_Krypt
@coinbase OCC approved, a real trust company now. Did not see crypto getting here this fast.
Introducing Coinbase National Trust Company, our federally chartered trust company. OCC approved. https://t.co/jhqyDdFyLk
11:39 AM·Nov 9, 2026
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