The lawsuit, filed October 2 within the U.S. District Courtroom for the District of Columbia, places the rising function of crypto companies inside the U.S. banking system underneath renewed authorized scrutiny. ICBA argues that the OCC has allowed corporations engaged primarily in digital-asset actions to acquire federal financial institution charters with out being topic to a number of necessities that apply to insured conventional banks.
On the heart of the dispute is the OCC’s interpretation of the Nationwide Financial institution Act and its choice to allow nationwide belief banks to conduct sure non-fiduciary actions. The company’s February 2026 remaining rule, which took impact April 1, changed references to “fiduciary actions” in its chartering laws with “the operations of a belief firm and actions associated thereto.” The OCC mentioned the change was meant to make clear present authority slightly than broaden or prohibit it.
ICBA Challenges OCC Crypto Financial institution Charters
ICBA’s grievance names the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould and seeks to invalidate the March 2026 chartering rule and OCC Interpretive Letter 1176, issued in January 2021.
The 2021 interpretation addressed the OCC’s authority to constitution nationwide banks working inside the scope of Part 27(a) of the Nationwide Financial institution Act. It concluded that nationwide belief banks might conduct actions permitted for state belief corporations, together with sure actions that aren’t fiduciary in nature.
The Impartial Group Bankers of America sued the OCC, difficult its authority to grant nationwide belief charters to crypto companies. Supply: @coinbureau through X
ICBA argues that this interpretation opened the door for crypto corporations to acquire nationwide belief charters regardless of not working like standard belief establishments. The banking group contends that Congress didn’t intend nationwide belief charters to supply a pathway into the banking system for corporations whose main companies contain digital belongings.
“The OCC’s choice to permit corporations to acquire nationwide belief financial institution charters to conduct substantial non-fiduciary actions exceeds the authority Congress granted the company,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey mentioned.
Rainey added that Congress “didn’t create the nationwide belief constitution as a facet door into the banking system for crypto companies” searching for the credibility related to a federal financial institution constitution with out the regulatory necessities utilized to insured depository establishments.
21 Belief Financial institution Approvals Face Scrutiny
The lawsuit challenges the broader framework utilized by the OCC to approve nationwide belief banks, together with 21 approvals recognized within the grievance. ICBA says 13 of these establishments have ties to the cryptocurrency trade.
The grievance particularly challenges the OCC’s remedy of Protego and seeks to stop the company from persevering with to depend on the disputed rule and 2021 interpretation when approving comparable charters.
The grievance says 21 belief banks have obtained approval or conditional approval, together with 13 crypto companies, and seeks to revoke Protego’s constitution. Supply: Ariel Givner through X
ICBA says nationwide belief banks can function with out federal deposit insurance coverage and usually don’t settle for conventional deposits or make standard loans. Consequently, the group argues that chartered crypto companies can keep away from some necessities that apply to insured banks, together with sure capital, liquidity, Group Reinvestment Act, and consolidated supervisory requirements.
The OCC takes a distinct place. Its 2026 rule states that nationwide belief banks have lengthy been permitted to interact in sure non-fiduciary actions associated to trust-company operations. The company additionally pointed to custody and safekeeping as examples of non-fiduciary actions that may fall inside the enterprise of banking.
The authorized dispute will due to this fact flip partly on how broadly Part 27(a) permits the OCC to constitution nationwide belief banks and what actions qualify as being associated to the operations of a belief firm.
Coinbase and Circle Amongst Crypto Corporations in Focus
The problem comes as a number of main digital-asset corporations search nearer integration with the U.S. monetary system.
The OCC’s licensing information present that Coinbase Nationwide Belief Firm obtained a constitution choice in April 2026. Different digital-asset companies have additionally pursued nationwide belief buildings, reflecting rising demand for federally chartered entities that may present custody, settlement, and associated monetary companies.
For crypto corporations, a nationwide belief constitution can present a federal regulatory framework for actions akin to digital-asset custody with out turning the establishment into a standard deposit-taking financial institution. That distinction is necessary as a result of nationwide belief banks don’t essentially present the identical merchandise or carry out the identical capabilities as full-service industrial banks.
ICBA however argues that the federal constitution can provide crypto corporations a aggressive benefit and create confusion for customers who could affiliate the time period “financial institution” with protections accessible to insured depository establishments.
The OCC declined to touch upon the litigation.
World Liberty Constitution Provides to Regulatory Debate
The dispute additionally follows the OCC’s conditional approval of a nationwide belief financial institution constitution for World Liberty Belief Firm, an entity linked to World Liberty Monetary and the Trump household’s crypto enterprise.
The OCC granted conditional preliminary approval in August for the proposed nationwide belief financial institution. The establishment is meant to assist World Liberty Monetary’s stablecoin-related operations and digital-asset companies, slightly than conventional deposit-taking and lending.
The approval illustrates how nationwide belief charters have grow to be a part of the increasing infrastructure round stablecoins, crypto custody, and digital-asset funds.
For ICBA, nevertheless, the difficulty is broader than particular person corporations. The group is difficult the legal framework that it says has enabled the OCC to authorize crypto companies as nationwide belief banks.
SEC Crypto Custody Proposal Provides One other Layer
The lawsuit arrives as different U.S. monetary regulators take steps towards clearer guidelines for institutional crypto exercise.
On October 1, the Securities and Trade Fee proposed new guidelines protecting crypto custody by registered funding advisers and controlled funds. The proposal would permit self-custody of crypto belongings underneath sure situations and allow state-chartered belief corporations to function custodians, topic to specified necessities.
Earlier, the SEC proposed up to date custody guidelines permitting crypto self-custody underneath sure situations and allowing state belief corporations to function custodians. Supply: Kyle Chassé through X
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins mentioned the proposal would supply a “clear regulatory framework for the custody of crypto belongings,” arguing that present guidelines had not saved tempo with the expansion of the asset class.
The SEC proposal and the ICBA lawsuit strategy crypto from totally different regulatory views. The SEC is searching for to determine clearer custody guidelines for funding advisers and funds, whereas the ICBA case challenges how federal banking authorities can use nationwide belief charters for digital-asset corporations.
Collectively, the developments underscore the totally different regulatory questions rising as cryptocurrency turns into extra intently related to the normal monetary system.
What Comes Subsequent for Crypto Financial institution Charters
The ICBA lawsuit might decide how a lot flexibility the OCC has when chartering nationwide belief banks whose companies prolong past conventional fiduciary companies.
The case additionally places the company’s 2021 Interpretive Letter 1176 and its 2026 chartering rule underneath judicial scrutiny. The OCC maintains that its rule merely aligns its laws with authority already offered by federal regulation, whereas ICBA argues that the company has gone past the authority Congress granted it.
The result might have an effect on future charter applications from cryptocurrency exchanges, stablecoin issuers, custodians, and different digital-asset corporations searching for nationwide belief financial institution standing.
For the broader crypto trade, the case represents one other check of how digital-asset companies will match inside the U.S. banking framework. For neighborhood banks, it’s a problem over whether or not companies working underneath specialised belief charters ought to face the identical regulatory obligations and safeguards as conventional insured establishments.
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