Coinbase Seeking Banking Charter From OCC in Effort To Grow Institutional Custody Business: Report

Coinbase is reportedly taking another step toward integrating traditional finance and crypto infrastructure by applying for a national trust charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The move is designed to strengthen the company’s institutional custody operations rather than transform it into a full-fledged bank, Yahoo Finance reports.

Greg Tusar, Coinbase’s vice president of institutional products, said the charter would open new opportunities for the company’s custody business, particularly in payments, settlement and trust-based services.

He also said that Coinbase has “no ambitions to be a bank,” underscoring that the application is focused on expanding institutional offerings rather than retail banking.

A national trust charter differs from a full-service bank license because it does not authorize the holder to take deposits or issue loans. Instead, it enables custodial and fiduciary activities, which would allow Coinbase to manage digital assets held in trusts and to facilitate payments and settlement for large clients.

The company already operates Coinbase Custody Trust Company under a New York State trust license, but an OCC charter would give it the ability to operate nationwide under a single federal framework, avoiding the need for multiple state-level approvals.

Other US fintechs have made moves to become more integrated with the traditional banking system.

According to a recent report by The Information, payments platform Stripe is applying for a charter as a means of complying with new stablecoin legislation, allowing it to continue offering dollar-pegged crypto assets after the new law goes into effect.

Generated Image: Midjourney