Coinbase Receives Conditional OCC Approval: Building the Future of Finance

On Apr. 2, Coinbase said it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter Coinbase National Trust Company, a milestone in the crypto exchange's effort to build its business under a federal regulatory framework. Greg Tusar, co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, announced the news in an update the same day.

Tusar was clear that the charter does not make Coinbase a commercial bank. The company will not take retail deposits and will not engage in fractional reserve banking, he said. Instead, the national trust charter is intended for safeguarding customer assets, bringing OCC oversight to the custody and market infrastructure operations Coinbase has already built.

The approval is conditional, meaning Coinbase still must work through the OCC's conditions before the charter is finalized. Tusar said the process validates the company's years of investment in compliance and its approach of working with regulators. He added that Coinbase has long sought uniform federal rules for digital assets and that Congress has made progress on market structure, but crypto is already embedded in the U.S. financial system.

Coinbase said the new federal charter could also create a foundation for additional products, including payments and related services, for the institutions and individuals that rely on the exchange. At the same time, the company reaffirmed its existing state-level oversight. Coinbase, Inc. will continue to operate under the New York Department of Financial Services, and its BitLicense and state trust charter remain in place.

Tusar said the milestone represents progress not only for Coinbase but for an industry that has worked to show innovation and accountability can coexist. He said the company looks forward to cooperating with OCC staff as it moves through the conditions of approval.