Warren challenges OCC crypto trust approvals

Elizabeth Warren has accused Jonathan Gould of violating federal banking law by approving national trust charters for cryptocurrency companies.

In a letter sent Monday, Warren said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had approved or conditionally approved at least nine crypto-related trust charters that allegedly exceeded the narrow activities permitted under the National Bank Act.

“These companies are effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank,”

Warren wrote.

The senator requested full applications and related communications tied to approvals involving firms including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Ripple, Stripe, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Holdings and Paxos.

Warren also asked for communications between the OCC and Trump administration officials, including members of the president’s family, as she continued raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest involving crypto policy and businesses tied to the Trump family.

The dispute follows increasing demand from crypto firms for national trust bank charters, which allow companies to offer fiduciary custody and related digital asset services without operating as full commercial banks subject to the same deposit and lending regulations.

Separately, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, filed an OCC application on May 8 seeking approval for a national trust charter tied to digital asset custody services.