The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Oct. 2 in Washington federal court, seeking to overturn national trust bank rules used to charter digital asset firms. The complaint asks the court to vacate the OCC's national trust bank rule and Interpretive Letter 1176, alleging the agency exceeded its statutory authority by expanding limited-purpose trust charters to cover non-depository, non-fiduciary crypto businesses.
Key Takeaways:
- The ICBA seeks to invalidate the OCC rule finalized in February (effective April 1) and Interpretive Letter 1176.
- The OCC has approved or conditionally approved 21 trust banks, with 13 tied to digital assets.
- Approvals include Coinbase in April, Laser Digital in May, and Agora, Catena, and Bastion on Sept. 18.
- Comptroller Jonathan Gould reported that 23 of 40 recent de novo charter applications involved digital assets.
ICBA Challenges OCC Charter Expansion
The suit follows the OCC's Sept. 18 approvals of Agora National Trust Bank, Catena Trust Bank, and Bastion Platforms. Banking groups previously challenged individual firm applications, but approvals continued. In December 2025, five crypto-linked entities received preliminary or conditional decisions: BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, First National Digital Currency Bank, Paxos, and a Ripple-linked applicant. They were followed in February by Bridge, National Digital Trust, and Foris DAX (parent company of Crypto.com), before Coinbase won approval in April and Laser Digital in May.
The OCC finalized its revised national trust bank rule in February (effective April 1), replacing the phrase "fiduciary activities" with statutory language from 12 U.S.C. 24(Seventh) covering "the operations of a trust company and activities related thereto." The ICBA argues this broadened definition allows non-fiduciary crypto entities—such as stablecoin issuers and payment settlement operators—to operate under a lighter regulatory framework than insured commercial banks. In its February rule, the OCC cited the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, acknowledging that courts must exercise independent judgment on whether the National Bank Act authorizes such charters. Amid evolving institutional oversight, regulatory standards remain under close industry review SEC Proposes New Custody Rules for Crypto Assets Held by Investment Funds.
Broad Scope of Impact Across Crypto Firms
In August, the OCC noted receiving 40 de novo charter applications over approximately 18 months, with Comptroller Jonathan Gould stating that 23 involved digital assets. Active pending applicants on the agency's licensing portal include zerohash, Dakota National Trust Bank, Payward (Kraken), Lorum National Trust Bank, EDX Trust, and PAYO Digital Bank.
Approved business plans span several core services. Coinbase focuses on fiduciary custody and transactional services, while Agora targets dollar-backed stablecoin issuance, reserve management, nonfiduciary custody, and payment execution. Bastion offers white-label stablecoin issuance and custodial wallets, Catena provides custody and clearing, Foris DAX pairs custody with trade settlement and staking, and Bridge handles stablecoin orchestration and reserve management. These reserve operations hold systemic relevance, particularly as stablecoin issuers replace 40% of China's lost demand for US Treasuries and the San Francisco Fed projects stablecoin Treasury demand could double to $400 billion by 2030. Wall Street market projections remain large: JPMorgan projects a $500 billion market by 2028, Coinbase targets $1.2 trillion by late 2028, Standard Chartered estimates $2 trillion by 2028, and Citi foresees $1.9 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030 relative to the $20.7 trillion in deposits held by FDIC-insured banks in Q2.
Why It Matters
A ruling in favor of the ICBA could dismantle the federal framework that crypto firms have increasingly relied on to secure banking legitimacy and national institutional access. If the court vacates the OCC rule or Interpretive Letter 1176, digital asset firms engaging in nonfiduciary custody, stablecoin issuance, reserve management, and trade execution may be forced to restructure into state-chartered trust companies, partner-bank models, or affiliate entities. Conversely, an OCC legal victory would cement the national trust charter as a permanent, federal pathway for crypto infrastructure in the United States.
