Coinbase Receives Formal Trust Bank Charter from the U.S. OCC

Coinbase said the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted a full national trust bank charter to Coinbase National Trust, upgrading the conditional approval it received in April. The entity will offer federally regulated custody and payments services but will not operate as a full-service bank taking deposits or making loans. Coinbase said the conversion followed months of building out compliance systems, hiring required staff and undergoing regulatory review. The charter gives Coinbase a federal supervisory framework for its institutional custody and payment business, a structure it has pursued as U.S. regulators take a harder line on crypto. Watch for which assets and clients Coinbase National Trust onboards first and whether the federal footing helps it win institutional custody mandates against rivals.