Coinbase wins US approval to operate as a nationally chartered trust bank
The charter allows payments, custody and a wider stablecoin push, but stops short of deposits and loans.
Coinbase has won approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate as a nationally chartered trust bank, a step short of a full banking license. The status does not allow it to take ordinary deposits or make loans, but it does permit payments and custody work and a wider push into its stablecoin operations. Coinbase presents the move as a milestone for regulated crypto finance. Only a few digital asset firms, including Circle Internet Group and Ripple, had previously secured a trust charter, while Block and Wise were unsuccessful. The company's record includes SEC lawsuits from 2022 and 2023, a $100 million New York settlement in 2023, and a hack last year in which attackers demanded $20 million.
Why it matters
Coinbase gains a federally supervised footing for parts of its crypto business that it could not previously offer under the same regulatory umbrella. Customers using its custody and payments services and holders of its stablecoin activity fall under this oversight, which is a meaningful shift for a company that has faced SEC lawsuits and a New York settlement. The charter is narrower than a full banking license, so it does not bring deposit-taking or lending into the company's remit. Few digital asset firms have won a trust charter, so the decision stands out as a marker of how far regulated crypto finance has come.
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