The American Bankers Association (ABA) is calling on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to slow approvals of national trust bank charters for crypto and stablecoin firms until there is greater clarity around the regulatory framework established by the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
In a comment letter submitted Wednesday in response to the OCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking on national bank charters, the ABA warned that companies engaged in stablecoin and digital asset activities face an unsettled regulatory environment, with oversight split across multiple federal and state authorities.
The trade group argued that the OCC should refrain from advancing applications if an institution’s full regulatory obligations — including those stemming from future rulemakings under the GENIUS Act — have not yet been clearly defined.
The ABA also raised concerns about uninsured national trust banks focused on digital assets, citing unresolved safety and soundness, operational and resolution risks. It highlighted issues related to the segregation of customer assets, potential conflicts of interest and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
Additionally, the association cautioned that national trust charters could be used by firms to sidestep registration and regulatory scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) when conducting activities that might otherwise fall under securities or derivatives laws.
The ABA urged the OCC to exercise “patience,” avoid applying standard processing timelines to crypto-related applications, and ensure that each applicant’s regulatory obligations are fully understood before moving forward with approvals.
The group also called for greater transparency in how the OCC sets capital, operational and resilience requirements in conditional approvals for digital asset trust charters. Additionally, it urged the regulator to tighten naming rules so that limited-purpose trust banks — which do not engage in traditional banking activities — are barred from using the term “bank” in their names.
Such measures, the ABA argued, would help prevent consumer confusion about the safety and regulatory status of uninsured entities.
Concerns Follow Recent Charter Approvals
The letter comes less than two months after the OCC granted conditional national trust bank approvals to five crypto firms: BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple National Trust Bank, First National Digital Currency Bank and Paxos Trust Company.
On Dec. 12, 2025, the OCC approved a framework allowing these firms to custody and manage digital assets under a federal charter while remaining outside traditional deposit-taking and lending activities.
At the same time, the banking lobby is pushing Congress to address stablecoin-related concerns in pending market structure legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. The ABA contends that yield-bearing stablecoins and affiliated “rewards” programs function similarly to bank products but operate without being subject to the full banking regulatory regime.
