On August 11, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its policy to support the entry of cryptocurrency (virtual currency) firms into banking.
This initiative is part of efforts to encourage the establishment of new banks and revitalize new entries into the U.S. banking industry.
Jonathan V. Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, pointed out that for over the past decade, regulators have effectively sent a signal to businesses seeking federal bank charters and federal deposit insurance that "there is no need to apply."
He explained that companies conducting legally recognized businesses, including digital assets and new technologies, should have a pathway to become national banks, indicating a shift from the traditional stance.
The background to this is the long-term stagnation in the establishment of new banks in the U.S.
According to the OCC, applications for new bank charters have significantly decreased over the past 15 years, averaging fewer than four per year from 2011 to 2014, with some years seeing no applications at all.
On the other hand, in the most recent 18 months, 40 new applications, including for national trust banks, have been accepted, indicating a renewed activity in new entries.
In the cryptocurrency industry, movements to obtain bank charters are already underway.
The OCC conditionally approved the establishment of Ripple National Trust Bank and First National Digital Currency Bank in December 2025, and also conditionally approved the conversion of BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos into national trust banks.
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