The American Bankers Association is urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to pause new trust bank charters for cryptocurrency and stablecoin firms. In a comment letter, the banking trade group warned that the regulatory landscape is unsettled and that advancing applications now could create safety and soundness risks. The call comes weeks after the OCC conditionally approved five crypto firms for national trust bank charters.
The American Bankers Association (ABA) is urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to slow its approval of national trust bank charters for crypto firms. In a Wednesday comment letter, the trade group warned that applicants face still‑unsettled oversight from multiple regulators.
The ABA said the OCC should not advance applications where an institution’s full regulatory obligations are not yet fully defined. It warned that uninsured, digital asset‑focused national trusts raise unresolved safety and soundness, operational and resolution issues.
The association also cautioned that national trust charters could be used to avoid registration and scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It urged the OCC to be “patient” and ensure each applicant’s regulatory responsibilities “come fully into view” before moving forward.
The intervention comes less than two months after the OCC granted conditional approvals to five crypto firms. Those firms are Bitgo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple National Trust Bank, First National Digital Currency Bank, and Paxos Trust Company.
The same banking lobby is also pressing Congress to curb stablecoin rewards through pending crypto market structure legislation. It contends that yield‑bearing stablecoins would function as bank‑like products without full bank regulation.
