Stripe-Owned Bridge Wins Conditional OCC Approval to Become National Crypto Bank

Stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge has secured conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form a national trust bank, advancing its plans to operate under direct federal oversight. Bridge was purchased by Stripe in 2024 for US$1.1 billion (AU$1.55 billion) as part of Stripe’s expansion into blockchain-based payments and stablecoin infrastructure.

Once finalised, the proposed Bridge National Trust Bank would be permitted to issue stablecoins, custody digital assets and manage the reserves backing those tokens within a federally regulated structure. The company said the charter would provide institutions with the regulatory foundation required to build with stablecoins at scale and within a clear supervisory perimeter.

Related: Institutions, Not Individuals, to Drive Crypto’s Mainstream Breakthrough

Regulatory Scope of the Proposed Trust Bank

Bridge added that its compliance framework reflects the standards set out in the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin legislation enacted last year to regulate issuance and trading activity, while federal regulators continue drafting detailed implementing rules. The rush of crypto-related applications followed regulatory decisions reaffirming that banks can hold and manage crypto assets for customers.

The approval follows similar conditional clearances granted in December to Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets and BitGo. Anchorage Digital Bank remains the only crypto-native firm to have obtained a national trust charter, having done so in 2021.

Bridge filed its application in October, and OCC records show conditional approval was granted last week, with no timetable yet disclosed for a final decision.

Related: US Bank Lobby Urges OCC to Pause Crypto Trust Charters Amid Stablecoin Uncertainty

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