Ripple has cleared a major regulatory milestone. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted final approval Monday for Ripple National Trust Bank, a federally supervised institution that will backstop the company’s RLUSD stablecoin and custody digital assets for enterprise clients.
The approval caps a 10-month process that began with conditional authorization last December, when the OCC simultaneously approved charter applications from Circle, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets and BitGo. For Ripple, the decision represents a watershed moment: the company now operates under dual federal and state supervision, positioning itself as a regulated financial institution rather than a shadow banking operation.
What the Trust Bank Actually Does
Ripple National Trust Bank will manage the segregated reserves underpinning RLUSD, which launched in December 2024 and has grown to a $2.6 billion market capitalization according to CoinGecko. The bank acts as collateral trustee for reserve holders and offers fiduciary digital asset custody to institutional clients. BNY Mellon, a traditional Wall Street heavyweight, serves as the stablecoin’s primary reserve custodian.
RLUSD issuance itself remains with Standard Custody & Trust Company, Ripple’s existing New York-regulated limited purpose trust company. This dual structure — state trust company handling issuance, federal trust bank managing reserves — creates a layered compliance framework that distinguishes Ripple’s approach from competitors pursuing simpler paths.
“The revolution isn’t happening outside the system. It’s happening from within it,” CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement, signaling Ripple’s bet that regulatory integration beats regulatory evasion.
The Broader Charter War
Ripple’s victory arrives amid intensifying pressure on crypto bank charters themselves. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has written to Comptroller Jonathan Gould arguing that OCC approvals for Ripple, Coinbase and others violate the National Bank Act, calling these firms “effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank.”
The Independent Community Bankers of America escalated matters this month by suing the OCC in federal court. The trade group contends that crypto charters function as “a side door into the banking system” that circumvent capital requirements, consolidated supervision and FDIC insurance obligations imposed on traditional banks. The lawsuit signals that Ripple’s regulatory win may face years of legal contestation.
The Digital Chamber, a crypto industry advocacy group, has urged the OCC to defend the charters and develop clearer supervisory expectations for trust banks. That split reflects crypto’s internal fracture: large firms pursuing regulated legitimacy versus smaller operators wary of regulatory capture.
What Comes Next
Ripple says it will collaborate with the OCC, New York Department of Financial Services and other regulators as the bank begins operations. The company also flagged the GENIUS Act, pending federal legislation that would establish a unified stablecoin framework. Once implemented, that framework may reshape how Ripple operates — or provide the certainty the company currently lacks.
For now, the $2.6 billion RLUSD ecosystem gains federal banking supervision. Whether that proves durable depends on how courts rule when the charter war reaches the bench.