Coinbase secures final OCC approval for national trust charter

Coinbase received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Nov. 6 to charter Coinbase National Trust Company, placing its custody business under federal oversight, the company said in its announcement on Nov. 9. The OCC’s filing records the charter as effective Nov. 6, after an initial approval on April 2.

What services will the charter cover?

Coinbase says the charter lets it expand its digital-asset custody business under a federal regulatory framework. Banking Dive reports the national trust company can provide digital-asset custody, settlement and stablecoin reserve management under OCC oversight.

The OCC filing identifies the institution as Coinbase National Trust Company, a national trust bank headquartered in New York. It records the application as a new bank charter and lists trust powers as requested.

Does this make Coinbase a full-service bank?

No. The charter is for a national trust company, not a full-service commercial bank. CoinDesk reported that Coinbase’s earlier conditional approval did not authorize it to take deposits or extend loans.

Coinbase described the final approval as a step toward expanding its custody offering. Its announcement does not say that the company will launch new services immediately or provide a timetable for expansion.

When did the OCC finalize the charter?

The OCC’s corporate application record lists April 2 as the approval date and Nov. 6 as the date the charter became effective. Coinbase said the OCC approved the application last Friday.

Coinbase said it will begin with its core custody offering, with other versions of that model to follow, according to Banking Dive. The company has not announced a launch schedule for those additional services.

Source material

• announcement on Nov. 9 — coinbase.com
• corporate application record — apps.occ.gov