Ripple Wins Final US Approval to Launch National Trust Bank

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted Ripple the authority to operate a national trust bank, making it the first major crypto company to control a federally chartered US banking institution.

Ripple has secured final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB), CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced. The approval marks a watershed moment in the convergence of traditional banking and digital assets, granting Ripple the same regulatory status as institutions like BNY Mellon and State Street in the trust banking sector.

The new bank will manage reserves backing Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and provide digital asset custody services to institutional clients. Unlike earlier crypto banking partnerships that relied on third-party institutions, Ripple will now directly control deposit-taking, reserve management, and regulatory reporting under federal oversight.

For RLUSD holders, the shift means stablecoin reserves will sit inside a federally regulated bank rather than with external custodians or unregulated entities. This structure mirrors how traditional banks back deposits with Federal Reserve balances and Treasury securities, potentially reducing counterparty risk for users holding RLUSD in wallets or on exchanges.

The approval arrives as Washington finalizes rules under the GENIUS Act, federal stablecoin legislation set to take effect in January. Ripple's trust bank gives it a head start over rivals who must either partner with existing banks or navigate a months-long application process. Competitors like Circle and Paxos currently rely on bank partnerships to hold reserves for USDC and USDP.

Trust banks differ from commercial banks in that they cannot make loans or create money through fractional reserve banking. RNTB will hold customer assets in segregated accounts, manage stablecoin collateral, and provide custody, but it will not lend out deposits or offer interest-bearing accounts to retail customers.

Analysts note the approval reflects a broader regulatory shift. Where earlier administrations treated crypto firms with skepticism, the OCC under the current White House has issued multiple bank charters to digital asset companies, arguing that bringing crypto inside the regulated banking perimeter reduces systemic risk.

Garlinghouse did not disclose a launch date for RNTB services, but the approval allows Ripple to begin onboarding institutional clients immediately. The company has previously said it plans to use the bank to expand RLUSD adoption among payment processors, remittance firms, and corporate treasury desks seeking dollar-backed settlement rails outside the traditional correspondent banking system.