Coinbase has been approved to operate as a nationally chartered trust bank. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the status, and Coinbase announced it, according to Engadget. Other coverage, including Banking Dive and Quartz, says the OCC first gave conditional approval in April and has now finalized it.
What a trust bank can do. A trust charter is more limited than a full bank charter. Engadget says Coinbase will not be able to handle regular deposits or make loans. It can handle payments and custody services, which means holding assets for clients. Coinbase has said it is not becoming a commercial bank, according to other coverage.
The stablecoin point. Engadget says the status allows an expanded stablecoin business, while another report says Coinbase still cannot issue stablecoins under the charter. The two accounts differ, so the exact stablecoin role is not clear from the reports.
The timeline. According to search coverage, the OCC issued a conditional approval on April 2, 2026, for a new national trust company wholly owned by Coinbase, after an application filed in October. Reports say the OCC then upgraded it to a full charter effective November 6, 2026. The finalization date comes from secondary sources, and the OCC’s own records were not checked here.
The conditions. Coinbase said it plans to shift its existing New York-regulated custody business to the trust bank over three years. The trust bank must hold at least $60 million in core capital and enough liquid assets to cover 180 days of operating expenses during its first three years, according to the same coverage. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC in October, calling 21 trust bank approvals unlawful.
Who else has one. Engadget says Block and Wise also sought trust charters, and that only Circle Internet Group, Ripple and now Coinbase succeeded. Coinbase describes itself as the world’s largest crypto custodian and recently partnered with Citigroup on stablecoin-to-currency conversions, according to the article.
Coinbase’s history. Engadget lists earlier problems: the SEC sued Coinbase in 2022 and 2023 over alleged securities-law violations, Coinbase settled with New York for $100 million in 2023 over money-transmitting violations, and last year the company was hacked and the perpetrators demanded $20 million to keep information private. Whether the ransom was paid is not stated.
Why it matters. A federal charter puts Coinbase’s custody business under a national bank regulator, which can reassure institutional clients. It also shows that regulators are letting crypto firms into the banking system in a limited way. Critics from traditional banks argue that such charters give crypto firms a bank-like status without bank-like rules.
Sources: Engadget, Banking Dive and Quartz. Details are as reported by those outlets and Coinbase.
Cryptocurrency ATM (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
