OCC grants Coinbase full national trust company charter, with no price tag attached

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency completed the chartering of Coinbase National Trust Company on November 6, upgrading the conditional approval the exchange announced in April and placing its institutional custody business under direct federal supervision.

Coinbase (COIN) applied for the national trust charter in October 2025 and won preliminary approval on April 2, 2026. The company said the approval completes that process. In its announcement it framed the charter as a regulatory milestone and disclosed no financial impact from it.

The company’s own announcement carries the core commitment: “This charter allows us to bring clear and consistent federal uniformity to our industry-leading custody capabilities.”

What the charter is worth in practice

Coinbase’s statement, matching a wider run of federal trust applications from crypto firms, gives no revenue figure, no margin effect and no client commitments. What it does give is the cost side, in the OCC’s conditions. The trust must hold at least $60 million in Tier 1 capital and keep liquid assets enough to cover 180 days of operating expenses during its first three years.

The license is also narrower than a bank charter. The trust cannot take retail deposits, cannot lend and cannot issue stablecoins. It does not automatically connect Coinbase to Federal Reserve payment systems either; that requires a separate application under the Fed’s account access guidelines.

A three-year migration, client by client

Coinbase plans to move its custody business from Coinbase Custody Trust Company, its New York State Department of Financial Services regulated entity, to the national trust over three years. The company said it has served as a custodian for more than 14 years.

For institutions deciding where to park client assets, the near-term choice is unchanged: existing custody contracts stay with the NYDFS entity until each one migrates. What the charter buys Coinbase is federal supervision, and the signal that goes with it, rather than any immediate change in product or price.

Banking trade groups fought the application. The Independent Community Bankers of America urged the OCC in December 2025 to reject it, arguing the exchange has “demonstrably flawed risk and control functions,” a characterization in an advocacy filing rather than a regulatory finding. The American Bankers Association asked the regulator in February to slow its review of crypto charter requests. The approval went through anyway.

The charter extends a 2026 pattern at the OCC: Circle won final trust approval in July, and Ripple received final approval on October 26. The migration from the NYDFS entity begins now and runs through 2029.