Coinbase Seeks Federal Trust Charter, Not a Bank: What’s the Plan?

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Coinbase Applies for Federal Trust Charter, Says Not Aiming to Be a BankFinance

What to know:

  • Coinbase said it has applied for a national trust charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), aiming for federal regulatory oversight.
  • The charter would allow Coinbase to expand its services such as payments and settlement without seeking a full-service bank charter.
  • A federal trust charter would provide more flexibility to offer new financial services without needing state-by-state approvals, the company said.

In this article

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Coinbase announced on Friday that it has applied for a national trust charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). If approved, this would mean Coinbase would be regulated at the federal level.

This new charter would let Coinbase expand its current services – like securely holding customers’ digital assets – to include things like payment processing and finalizing transactions, all without needing to become a traditional bank.

Coinbase doesn’t plan to operate like a bank, according to Greg Tusar, a vice president at the company. In a recent blog post, Tusar explained that Coinbase believes strong regulations and the confidence of both regulators and customers are key to allowing them to innovate safely and securely.

Currently, Coinbase manages its primary, officially approved service for securely storing cryptocurrency through Coinbase Custody Trust Company (CCTC). CCTC is authorized to operate under New York’s BitLicense, a pioneering set of regulations for crypto businesses in the U.S. that was first established in 2015.

Getting a federal trust charter would allow the company to introduce new services like cryptocurrency payments more easily, as it wouldn’t require seeking approval from each individual state.

Coinbase is joining other cryptocurrency firms like Circle, Ripple, and Paxos in seeking oversight from federal regulators, a trend that’s been growing this year.

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2025-10-04 03:15