The cryptocurrency industry is mounting a coordinated defense of nine national trust bank charters issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency after Senator Elizabeth Warren accused the agency of approving them unlawfully, escalating a legal battle over whether firms like Ripple, Coinbase, and Circle can operate as federally chartered trust banks.
Sen. Warren Challenges Legality of OCC Crypto Charters
Warren sent a letter dated May 18, 2026 to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould arguing that the agency violated the National Bank Act by granting national trust bank charters to nine crypto companies. Warren characterized the approvals as illegal, stating the firms’ planned activities exceed what the law permits for national trust banks.
“These companies are effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank,” Warren wrote in the letter.
The nine firms named are Ripple National Trust Bank, Coinbase National Trust Company, Paxos Trust Company, First National Digital Currency Bank, Fidelity Digital Asset Services, BitGo Trust Company, Foris DAX (Crypto.com), Bridge National Trust Bank (Stripe), and National Digital Trust Company. Ripple, with an XRP market capitalization of roughly $82.6 billion, is among the largest entities involved.
XRP Market Cap
$82.6B
Ripple’s XRP token market capitalization at time of reporting. Price: $1.33 (−1.8% 24h). Source: CoinGecko
The charter approvals came in waves. Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets received conditional approvals in December 2025. Bridge (Stripe), Protego, and Crypto.com followed in February 2026, while Coinbase received its charter in early April 2026.
At the center of Warren’s legal argument is a specific regulatory change: the OCC finalized an amendment on March 2, 2026 that replaced the narrow phrase “fiduciary activities” with the broader “the operations of a trust company and activities related thereto” in its chartering regulations, effective April 1, 2026. Warren contends this expansion exceeded the agency’s congressional authorization.
Warren set a June 1, 2026 deadline for the OCC to produce all charter applications, legal analyses, and any communications between OCC officials and the White House or Trump family regarding the nine approvals.
Why the Crypto Industry Says Warren Is Wrong
The Digital Chamber, a prominent crypto trade group, sent a formal letter to Comptroller Gould defending the charters. The group argued that the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, explicitly authorized OCC oversight of stablecoin businesses and that the chartered firms do not accept FDIC-insured deposits, distinguishing them from traditional banks.
“It would be deeply incongruous for Congress, on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, to establish a new category of federally regulated stablecoin issuer while the OCC stood by.”
Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber — via Yahoo Finance
The industry’s core legal rebuttal centers on the GENIUS Act’s framework. Defenders argue the legislation implicitly authorized the OCC to charter stablecoin issuers and related crypto businesses at the federal level, making Warren’s reliance on pre-GENIUS Act interpretations of the National Bank Act outdated.
National trust companies occupy a distinct regulatory category: they are not required to obtain federal deposit insurance, face less stringent capital requirements than full-service banks, and are exempt from the Bank Holding Company Act. The industry argues this structure was designed precisely for firms like these, which custody and process digital assets rather than take traditional deposits.
The OCC has not publicly responded to Warren’s letter as of press time. Traditional bank lobbyists have reportedly considered legal action against the OCC over the crypto trust charters, though according to unconfirmed reports no lawsuit has been filed.
What OCC Charters Mean for Ripple, Coinbase, and the Broader Crypto Sector
An OCC national trust charter grants these firms the ability to operate nationally without securing separate state-by-state licenses. Charter holders gain access to the federal banking infrastructure, including the Federal Reserve’s payment systems, and benefit from federal preemption of state regulations that might otherwise restrict their activities.
For Ripple, a federal charter supports its cross-border payment and XRP Ledger business by providing a regulated banking entity through which to offer custody, stablecoin issuance, and payment processing. For Coinbase, the charter represents a step toward competing directly with traditional financial institutions on custody and settlement, part of a broader infrastructure expansion across digital asset services.
If Warren’s challenge pressured the OCC to revoke or suspend these charters, the firms would likely need to revert to a patchwork of state trust and money transmitter licenses, increasing compliance costs and limiting operational scope. However, Warren’s letter is primarily a political and oversight tool; she has no direct mechanism to revoke the charters unilaterally.
The broader regulatory picture is shifting rapidly. The CLARITY Act, a wider digital asset regulatory bill, passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026, signaling continued congressional appetite for formalizing crypto oversight. This comes amid a period of broader market uncertainty, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index sitting at 34, reflecting a “Fear” reading.
According to a statement made at a recent event, World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-affiliated crypto company, is reportedly in the final stages of receiving its own conditional OCC approval, though this has not been confirmed by the OCC. That detail adds another layer of political complexity to an already contentious regulatory landscape.
The dispute will be tested further as Warren’s June 1 document production deadline approaches. Whether the OCC complies, and what the records reveal about the approval process, could determine the next phase of this regulatory conflict between Washington’s crypto skeptics and an industry pushing for federal legitimacy.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
