Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is seeking answers from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) regarding its approval of national trust bank charters for cryptocurrency companies during the Trump administration.
Concerns Over Crypto Charters
In a letter sent Monday to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, Warren asserted that these approvals contravene the National Bank Act and pose “serious risks” to the stability of the U.S. banking system.
“These companies are effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank,” Warren stated.
The OCC has granted national trust banking charter applications to nine companies and their affiliates, including Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, Fidelity, Crypto.com, Stripe, and Protego.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to office last year, the OCC, a division of the Treasury Department, has approved nine national trust banking charter applications for crypto-focused firms.
National trust companies are subject to less stringent regulation than traditional banks, but they also have limitations on the services they can offer. They typically provide fiduciary services, such as managing assets on behalf of others, but do not accept customer deposits.
Stablecoin and Regulatory Oversight
Following the passage of the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act last year, numerous crypto companies have applied for national trust banking charters to facilitate the issuance, redemption, and custody of stablecoins and their backing funds, among other functions. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies typically pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar.
In her letter to the OCC, Warren argued that these companies “look like crypto banks, not trust companies.”
“The business plans include language that suggests the companies intend to engage in non-fiduciary custodial activities, facilitating payments and lending activities, and conducting stablecoin activities closely related to deposit-taking,” she explained.
Warren has requested detailed information from the OCC about the crypto banks’ approved bank charters, including whether the regulator allows national trust companies to engage in non-fiduciary activities. She also requested copies of all correspondence between OCC officials and President Trump, his family, and his associates regarding the approval of crypto-focused national trust applications.
Previous Confrontation
The progressive senator and the OCC’s Gould previously clashed publicly in February during a Senate hearing. Warren questioned Gould about a pending national trust bank application from World Liberty Financial, a crypto company associated with the Trump family. Gould declined to commit to delaying or denying the application, leading Warren to accuse him of being “an accomplice” to alleged corruption.
At an event earlier this month, World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff stated that the company is “in the final stages” of receiving conditional approval from the OCC.
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