Ripple’s bid to establish a federally regulated trust bank is gaining fresh attention as U.S. banking regulators move to make the national charter process more accessible to new entrants, inc
Ripple’s bid to establish a federally regulated trust bank is gaining fresh attention as U.S. banking regulators move to make the national charter process more accessible to new entrants, including digital-asset companies.
The development was highlighted by crypto researcher BankXRP, who pointed to recent comments from Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould on the changing regulatory environment for new banks.
Gould said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency wants to reverse a prolonged decline in new bank formations and provide a clearer route for companies seeking federal charters. The OCC said it has received 40 de novo applications over the past 18 months, including national trust bank applications.
In many cases, the regulator has made decisions within 120 days after receiving a complete filing. The agency also noted that a full-service national bank recently received final approval and opened for the first time in five years.
Gould explicitly included companies working with digital assets among businesses that should have a viable path into the national banking system, provided their activities are legally permissible.
Ripple Is Already Inside the Federal Charter PipelineRipple is particularly exposed to that policy shift because its application has already advanced beyond the initial stage.
In December 2025, the OCC granted preliminary conditional approval to Ripple National Trust Bank, alongside applications involving Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos.
The earlier Ripple approval marked an important milestone, but it did not mean the bank was immediately cleared to operate. Ripple must complete the OCC’s remaining pre-opening requirements before receiving final authorization.
A national trust bank also serves a different role from a conventional retail bank. Ripple’s proposed institution is expected to focus on areas such as institutional custody, settlement and trust services rather than consumer checking accounts or traditional lending.
By March, Ripple was still working through those final requirements, while its proposed charter was viewed as a potential regulated gateway for institutional custody and settlement activity. That process has been tracked closely as Ripple moves toward final approval.
Crypto Firms Push Deeper Into Federal BankingRipple is part of a broader wave rather than an isolated case. The OCC’s December decision covered five digital-asset companies, demonstrating that federal banking regulators are becoming more willing to evaluate crypto-focused business models under existing banking law.
That trend has continued into 2026. World Liberty Financial recently obtained conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Company, which plans to support its USD1 stablecoin business if it clears the regulator’s remaining requirements.
For Ripple, the timing coincides with rapid growth in its own stablecoin business. RLUSD recently moved above $2 billion in market capitalization, increasing the strategic importance of regulated custody, reserve management and institutional settlement infrastructure.
The company could therefore benefit from a regulatory model that brings more digital-asset activity directly under federal supervision rather than forcing firms to depend primarily on state-by-state licensing frameworks.
Still, the OCC’s more welcoming stance should not be interpreted as automatic approval. Charter applicants remain subject to capital, governance, compliance, risk-management and operational requirements, while Ripple’s current status remains conditional.
The larger shift is that the federal charter route is active again. Gould said companies engaged in legally permissible digital-asset activities should have a path to becoming national banks, a position that places Ripple’s still-pending trust bank squarely within a wider transformation of U.S. crypto regulation.
