U.S. Banks Consider Legal Challenge to OCC Over Crypto Trust Bank Charters
The Bank Policy Institute, representing 40 major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, is weighing a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to block trust bank charters for cryptocurrency firms and fintech startups, The Guardian reported on March 9. The dispute follows the OCC's conditional approval in December 2025 of trust charters for five crypto firms—Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets—and 11 subsequent applications within 83 days from Crypto.com, Bridge (Stripe's stablecoin subsidiary), Zerohash, and Morgan Stanley, with Crypto.com receiving conditional approval in February 2026. Opposition has expanded to include the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and the American Bankers Association, whose representatives argue the OCC's approach creates a "Frankenstein charter" allowing new entrants to compete under looser standards, while BPI CEO Greg Baer contends the charters exceed statutory limits. The legal debate centers on OCC Interpretive Letter 1176 from 2021 and a February 27, 2026 rule amendment on trust company operations, with critics claiming the OCC changed licensing rules without following Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment procedures, while Acting Comptroller Jonathan Gould maintains trust companies have long handled custody and that the OCC must approve applicants meeting statutory criteria regardless of technology.
