Coinbase Wins Full OCC National Trust Charter, Placing Institutional Crypto Custody Under Federal Oversight
Coinbase Wins Full OCC National Trust Charter, Placing Institutional Crypto Custody Under Federal Oversight #
Coinbase has secured final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Coinbase National Trust Company (CNTC), bringing its institutional crypto custody business under direct federal supervision for the first time.
The OCC’s approval took effect on November 6, 2026, according to regulator records, upgrading a conditional approval the exchange received in April of this year. Coinbase had originally submitted its application to the OCC in October 2025, beginning a year-long process that culminated in what the company described as a landmark step in its pursuit of regulatory clarity in the United States.
Under the new charter, Coinbase National Trust Company is authorised to provide fiduciary digital asset custody services, primarily targeting institutional clients. The entity can hold and transfer assets within custody accounts and offer certain transaction services linked to those holdings. According to Coinbase’s charter application, the company plans to offer institutional clients segregated custody accounts with access to staking, financing, and trading through other Coinbase group entities. The company also outlined plans to explore digital asset payment products.
The national trust charter does not permit Coinbase to accept retail deposits, make traditional loans, or directly issue stablecoins, distinguishing CNTC from a full commercial bank. Coinbase already operates a custody business through Coinbase Custody Trust Company, a limited-purpose trust company licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services since 2018. The company said it intends to migrate that existing custody business to the new federally-chartered entity, though no timeline for the transition has been announced.
The approval makes Coinbase the latest major crypto firm to achieve national trust status, following Circle, which secured final OCC approval in July, and Ripple. The OCC has now approved or conditionally approved close to two dozen national trust bank charters under the current administration, with more than a dozen going to crypto-native companies.
The trend has accelerated following passage of the GENIUS Act, which created a regulatory pathway for federally chartered trusts to participate in compliant stablecoin issuance. Not everyone has welcomed the wave of approvals: community bank trade groups have challenged the OCC’s authority in court, arguing that some applicants failed to meet requirements under the National Bank Act. Coinbase’s application also drew opposition from industry associations representing traditional lenders, who questioned whether federally insured deposit protections would apply to digital assets held at a crypto-licensed trust.
The federal charter allows Coinbase to compete more directly with established custodians for institutional crypto custody, a segment where demand for regulated services has grown.
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