Protocols & Policy · Banking charter
Ripple says OCC finalized national trust bank for RLUSD
Per Ripple and Business Wire on Oct. 26, the OCC gave final approval to charter Ripple National Trust Bank to manage segregated RLUSD reserves, act as collateral trustee for holders, and offer fiduciary digital-asset custody, with RLUSD issuance staying at Ripple's NYDFS trust company and no occ.gov final release yet found by Le Coin.
Ripple said on Oct. 26 that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted final approval to charter Ripple National Trust Bank, a federally supervised national trust bank for reserves, trustee work and custody around Ripple's dollar stablecoin [1][2]. The claim is Ripple's and Business Wire's relay of an OCC announcement; as of publication, Le Coin has not found a matching final news release or decision letter on occ.gov [1][2].
What changes if the bank opens is who, under federal supervision, stewards the cash-like assets behind RLUSD and can offer fiduciary digital-asset custody in Ripple's stack. Ripple lists three approved activities for RNTB: managing the segregated reserves that support RLUSD, acting as collateral trustee of those reserves for RLUSD holders, and providing fiduciary digital asset custody services [1][2]. That is a trust-bank job, not a full-service bank charter.
What the charter covers, and what it does not
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 12, 2025 | OCC preliminary conditional approval for Ripple National Trust Bank (CA1359); named in OCC nr-occ-2025-125 conditional batch | OCC [3][4] |
| Oct. 26, 2026 | Ripple / Business Wire: OCC final approval to charter RNTB | Ripple; Business Wire [1][2] |
| Approved activities (company) | Manage segregated RLUSD reserves; collateral trustee for RLUSD holders; fiduciary digital-asset custody upon opening | Ripple; Business Wire [1][2] |
| RLUSD issuer | Remains Standard Custody & Trust Company (SCTC), Ripple's NYDFS-regulated limited purpose trust company | Ripple; Business Wire [1][2] |
| OCC conditional frame | Bank must limit operations to those of a trust company; "The Bank will not be an insured depository institution" | OCC CA1359 [3] |
Illustration: Le Coin
The December 2025 conditional letter granted preliminary approval only, with final approval and authority to commence business withheld until preopening requirements were met [3]. It says the Bank must limit operations to those of a trust company, including fiduciary activities, and states that the Bank will not be an insured depository institution [3]. Ripple's Oct. 26 release does not restate a deposits-or-loans ban in those words; the trust-company and uninsured frame is the OCC primary Le Coin has for the charter type [1][3].
RLUSD issuance does not move to the national trust bank. Ripple says SCTC remains the NYDFS-regulated issuer, with RNTB adding federal OCC supervision to the infrastructure supporting the token [1][2]. BNY remains, in Ripple's telling, the primary reserve custodian, and Ripple says it publishes monthly independent third-party attestations of circulating supply and reserve assets [1][2].
Scale Ripple puts on the token
Ripple says RLUSD launched in December 2024 and has grown to a $2.5 billion market cap, a company figure, and is used across Ripple's payments infrastructure and as collateral within Ripple Prime [1][2]. It also says the token is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government securities and other cash equivalents [1][2]. Those size and backing lines are Ripple's; Le Coin is not independently verifying them here.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO, said: "For years, we've said crypto and banks work better together. Final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank is what that looks like in practice." He added that a national trust charter "gives us an even stronger foundation for RLUSD and the institutional products we're building across payments, custody and capital markets" [1][2].
Ripple also says it will keep working with the OCC, NYDFS and other regulators as RNTB begins operations and as the U.S. implements the GENIUS Act framework [1][2]. That is Ripple's forward line, not an OCC timetable.
The objection
A fair objection is that the final-approval fact still rests on the company's wire until occ.gov posts a final letter or news release [1][2]. Another is that a national trust charter is not a license to take deposits or make commercial loans in the ordinary bank sense; the OCC's conditional file limits RNTB to trust-company operations and states it will not be FDIC-insured [3]. Both limits are in the record Le Coin has. Ripple says the move from conditional to final is done; OCC has not yet mirrored that step on its public site in a document Le Coin has captured [1][3].
The tell
What would change the view is an OCC final decision letter or news release naming Ripple National Trust Bank, a notice that RNTB has commenced business, and whether reserve management and collateral-trustee roles migrate onto the national trust books while SCTC remains the issuer [1][2][3]. The checkable next step is whether occ.gov publishes that final paper, and whether Ripple's monthly attestations begin to name RNTB in the reserve and trustee chain [1][2].
Sources
- Ripple, "Ripple Receives Final OCC Approval to Establish National Trust Bank," Oct. 26, 2026, https://ripple.com/ripple-press/ripple-receives-final-occ-approval-to-establish-national-trust-bank/ ; "OCC today announced" final approval for chartering Ripple National Trust Bank; approved activities (segregated RLUSD reserves, collateral trustee for holders, fiduciary digital asset custody); RLUSD continues to be issued by SCTC (NYDFS); Garlinghouse quotes; RLUSD launched December 2024, "$2.5 billion market cap" (Ripple figure); BNY primary reserve custodian; monthly third-party attestations; GENIUS Act line; accessed Oct. 27, 2026, ~6:24 a.m. ET.
- Business Wire, "Ripple Receives Final OCC Approval to Establish National Trust Bank," release id 20261026570843, Oct. 26, 2026, https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261026570843/en/Ripple-Receives-Final-OCC-Approval-to-Establish-National-Trust-Bank ; same company release text as Ripple PR; accessed Oct. 27, 2026, ~6:24 a.m. ET.
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Conditional Approval #1359, letter dated Dec. 12, 2025 to Brian Spahn (Ripple Labs Inc.), re Application to Charter Ripple National Trust Bank, New York, New York (Proposed), OCC Control Nos. 2025-Charter-342347 and 2025-Waiver-342476, proposed charter number 25364, https://www.occ.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2026/ca1359.pdf ; preliminary conditional approval only; final approval and commence-business authority not granted until preopening requirements met; Bank to engage in operations of a trust company; "The Bank will not be an insured depository institution"; Bank must limit operations to those of a trust company; SCTC described as NYDFS limited purpose trust issuer of RLUSD; reserve management and collateral trustee plan; accessed Oct. 27, 2026, ~6:24 a.m. ET.
- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, "Conditional Approvals for Five National Trust Bank Charter Applications," nr-occ-2025-125, https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-125.html ; conditional approvals including Ripple National Trust Bank; accessed Oct. 27, 2026, ~6:24 a.m. ET.
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