Coinpaper
March 4, 2026 11:39 AM UTC

Washington Picks Crypto Custody Winners as Federal Trust Charters Expand

Washington has moved further into crypto custody, but the shift is not entirely new. Recent actions by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, show that federal regulators are now deciding which crypto firms can move toward national trust charters. Those charters would let approved firms operate as federally supervised custodians across the United States. The latest step came on April 2, 2026, when Coinbase received conditional OCC approval for a national trust company charter. Reuters reported that the approval would let Coinbase operate as a federally regulated crypto custodian if the charter is fully granted. The company also said the charter would not turn it into a normal commercial bank because it would not accept retail deposits or use fractional reserve banking. That followed another recent move. On February 23, 2026, Crypto.com said it had received conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter. Reuters reported that the approval would allow the firm to move toward federally supervised custody and trade settlement services, though it still could not take cash deposits or issue loans like a traditional bank. Federal Crypto Custody Gains Speed These approvals matter because they show Washington is building a federal lane for crypto custody. A national trust charter gives firms broader reach than a state trust structure. It also gives institutional clients a clearer regulatory framework for holding digital assets, settling trades, and using custody services under OCC oversight. Still, this is not a brand new policy. Reuters reported on December 12, 2025, that the OCC had already granted initial approval to Ripple and Circle to establish national trust banks. It also approved applications from BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets to convert state trust charters into national ones. So the recent Coinbase and Crypto.com approvals are better seen as the next phase of an existing trend. Washington started opening this path in 2025. Now, in 2026, the list of firms moving into that federal structure is getting longer. What The Charters Actually Mean These charters do not create full-service banks. Reuters said the approved firms would not be allowed to take deposits or make loans like traditional lenders. Instead, the trust model focuses on custody, safeguarding client assets, and helping settle transactions within a federal supervisory system. That distinction matters because some headlines make the shift sound broader than it is. Washington is not handing crypto firms normal banking powers. Instead, it is deciding which firms can handle digital assets and related settlement functions under national oversight.