The United States has taken a landmark step in financial regulation after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional approval for five leading crypto companies to operate as national trust banks.
Ripple, Circle, Paxos, BitGo and Fidelity Digital Assets are now set to enter the federal banking system, marking one of the most significant regulatory endorsements of the digital asset sector to date.
The OCC confirmed that BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos will convert their existing state-chartered trust companies into national trust banks under direct federal supervision.
Circle and Ripple, by contrast, are pursuing entirely new federal banking charters, signalling a more ambitious regulatory reset for both firms.
The approvals move these companies out of a previously uncertain regulatory position and place them firmly within the traditional US banking framework.
National trust bank status allows the firms to provide digital asset custody and settlement services under strict oversight from the OCC.