Ripple Becomes a Trust Bank in the US

Ripple has received conditional approval from the U.S. banking regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), to establish a national trust bank. Similar approvals were also granted to other digital asset companies, including BitGo. As a result, these firms may join the U.S. federal banking system, provided they meet all required regulatory conditions.

The OCC’s decision applies to a total of five entities. In addition to Ripple National Trust Bank and BitGo Bank and Trust, approvals were also granted to Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos Trust Company, and First National Digital Currency Bank. Three of these firms already operate as state-chartered trust banks and will now transition to a federal license. Ripple and First National Digital Currency Bank, meanwhile, were approved as newly established institutions.

National trust bank status allows companies to offer federally regulated services related to the custody of digital assets and other trust services. This includes safeguarding cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized financial instruments. Such banks do not accept deposits; instead, they focus on the secure management of client assets.

The OCC approvals increase the number of national trust banks operating in the United States, which currently stands at around 60. For companies in the cryptocurrency sector, this means the ability to operate across multiple states under a single regulatory framework and ongoing federal supervision. It marks another step toward integrating the digital asset market with the traditional financial system.