Coinbase has secured a full national trust charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), allowing its custody business to operate under federal oversight. The company established a new entity, Coinbase National Trust Company, specifically for fiduciary digital asset custody. This federal license complements, rather than replaces, the company's existing New York state trust charter and BitLicense.
The application process began on October 3, 2025, with conditional approval granted on April 2, 2026. Coinbase plans to transition its custody operations to the federal framework over a three-year period. As of mid-2025, the firm held $245.7 billion in institutional custody assets, while its total platform assets reached $376 billion by the end of 2025, accounting for over 12% of global crypto market capitalization.
The charter issuance is part of the implementation of the GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, which establishes a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers. Ripple has also obtained a similar national trust bank status, receiving final approval on October 26, 2026. Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin currently holds an estimated market capitalization between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion.
The federal charter does not grant Coinbase powers related to retail deposits, lending, or fractional reserve banking. The company will continue to manage its operations across both state and federal regulatory frameworks during the transition. This shift aims to strengthen Coinbase's position in institutional custody, as market participants increasingly prioritize federal regulatory involvement.
