Crypto Bank Charter Race Heats Up as Major Firms Seek Approval
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The race to secure crypto-focused national trust bank charters is accelerating in the United States. In December, the OCC conditionally approved five applications, including those from Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. These approvals signaled growing regulatory openness toward institutional crypto custody.
More recently, stablecoin platform Bridge — owned by Stripe — received conditional approval, followed by Crypto.com. Financial services firm Payoneer has also filed for a charter, potentially enabling it to issue a stablecoin and expand crypto services, underscoring the industry-wide push toward regulated digital asset banking.