Crypto News: ABA Urges OCC to Pause Ripple, Coinbase and Circle Charter Reviews

Key Insights:

• Crypto news: ABA urged the OCC to pause national bank charter reviews for crypto firms, including Ripple, Coinbase, and Circle.
• ABA said charter decisions should wait until Congress finalizes crypto banking rules and agencies complete rulemaking.
• Firms cited as awaiting approval include Ripple, Circle, Coinbase, BitGo, Paxos, and Nomura’s Laser Digital.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has asked the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to slow its review of national bank charter applications linked to crypto and stablecoin activity. The crypto news included efforts associated with Ripple, Coinbase, and Circle. The request was submitted as a public comment tied to the OCC’s National Bank Chartering Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (RIN 1557-AF47).

In its filing, the ABA said the OCC should apply robust safety and soundness standards, increase transparency in charter decision-making, and show patience while digital-asset regulatory frameworks are still being completed across agencies.

Crypto News: ABA Targets OCC Charter Decisioning During Ongoing Rulemaking

The ABA’s comment letter, published February 11, 2026, framed the OCC proposal as part of a wider set of recent charter applications and conditional approvals, alongside regulatory requirements that are not yet fully in place for many applicants. The association asked the OCC not to evaluate crypto-related charter applications against “traditional timelines,” arguing that applicants’ responsibilities need to be clearer before applications move forward.

The letter also proposed changes to OCC rules intended to prevent new charter applicants from using names that could misrepresent the services they plan to offer. In practice, the ABA argued that naming conventions should not create confusion about whether an institution operates like a traditional bank.

GENIUS Act Concerns and Conditions Tied to Charter Approvals

A central point in the ABA’s submission was criticism of the OCC’s recent approach of conditioning approvals on an applicant’s commitment to comply with the GENIUS Act, while key regulatory steps remain unfinished. The association said full implementation is still years away and noted that multiple agencies must complete additional rulemaking before requirements are settled.

Alongside legislative timing, the ABA urged the OCC to ensure it has adequate receivership and related capabilities to address insolvency-risk concerns that could arise from novel business models seeking federal charters. The letter presented this as an operational readiness issue for the supervisor as more applicants seek national-level authorization.

Ripple and Prior OCC Conditional Approvals

ABA’s call arrives after the OCC announced conditional approvals on December 12, 2025, for five national trust bank charter applications. The OCC said it conditionally approved de novo national trust bank charters for First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple National Trust Bank, while also conditionally approving conversions to national trust banks for BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company.

In the crypto news, OCC said it applied the same review and standards used for charter applications generally, and it positioned new entrants as supporting competition and product development within the federal banking system. The conditional approvals remain subject to OCC conditions, with related decision letters published as supporting documents.

Other Firms Referenced in the Charter Debate

Beyond Ripple, the ABA’s position has been discussed in the context of additional crypto and digital-asset firms pursuing national trust bank or related charters, including Circle, Coinbase, Nomura’s Laser Digital, BitGo, and Paxos. Also, World Liberty Financial has applied for a trust charter tied to its stablecoin activity.

The current filing also follows earlier ABA-backed advocacy on crypto charter applications. In July 2025 crypto news, ABA coverage of a joint letter said that banking groups urged the OCC to postpone decisions on certain crypto-related trust charter applications, calling for scrutiny of the OCC’s policy approaches.

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