Coinbase gets full U.S. trust charter from federal banking regulator

The biggest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase (COIN), will now be operating a fully chartered trust bank, according to the company, which said the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency elevated its previously conditional status.

The Coinbase National Trust had received its provisional approval in April, allowing the company to offer federally regulated custodial and payments services, though not acting as a full-service bank that would take deposits and extend loans. After several months of building out compliance systems, hiring necessary personnel and undergoing regulatory scrutiny, Coinbase said the agency signed off on its full charter.

Coinbase was among many firms in the crypto industry to pursue trust-bank status at the federal level — a trend that accelerated after the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act cleared a path for federal trusts to issue compliant stablecoins. The OCC has embraced crypto firms and stablecoins under the administration of President Donald Trump, including granting a conditional trust status to his family's own World Liberty Financial.

Last month, the OCC also granted Ripple a full trust charter.

In a statement, Coinbase Vice Chairman Ryan VanGrack said, "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. The OCC’s approval is another major step in integrating digital assets into the core infrastructure of the American financial system."

The arrival of crypto-native firms in the U.S. banking system follows a stretch of years in which the federal regulators in banking, securities and derivatives were resistant to allowing such an entry and often treated the businesses with regulatory distrust.

Meanwhile, the Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the OCCfor what it claims is an overreach of its authority in granting trust charters to crypto firms.