Ripple Gains Final US OCC Approval for National Trust Bank, Stablecoin RLUSD Under Federal Oversight

Ripple Secures Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank, Bolstering RLUSD Under Federal Oversight

Ripple has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, bringing its stablecoin, RLUSD, under federal supervision. The move signifies a significant step in integrating digital assets with traditional financial regulation. RLUSD currently boasts a market capitalization of $2.5 billion.

Ripple co-founder and CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the development on X, stating that Ripple National Trust Bank will operate as a federally supervised platform. This new entity will not only support Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, but also offer digital asset custody services to enterprises.

“We’ve always said crypto and banks work better together – this is how it works in practice: real innovation, real accountability, federal oversight,” Garlinghouse commented on the significance of the approval.

Operational Framework of the National Trust Bank

The establishment of the national trust bank follows a clear and defined operational structure. According to Ripple’s official announcement, the newly formed bank will be responsible for managing segregated reserves backing RLUSD, acting as the trustee for RLUSD holders’ reserves, and providing trust-type digital asset custody services. The issuance of RLUSD will continue to be managed by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a Ripple subsidiary regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This dual oversight means RLUSD will be subject to both state and federal regulations.

The charter for the national trust bank explicitly prohibits it from accepting deposits or offering loans, distinguishing it from a full-service commercial bank. This structure allows Ripple to operate its reserve management and custody functions at the federal level while maintaining the issuance side within the agile, state-regulated framework of a startup. This “federal money management, state-level issuance” dual-track approach is viewed by the industry as a potential standard model for stablecoin governance.

A Swift Path to Approval

Ripple’s journey to obtaining a U.S. banking license began in July 2025 with its initial application. The company received conditional approval from the OCC on December 12, 2025, and has now secured final approval, completing the process in under 16 months. This timeline contrasts with other major players; Circle received its final approval in July of this year, and BitGo was granted its green light in December 2025.

Other entities that received conditional approval this year include Coinbase, Crypto.com, and World Liberty Financial. This wave of approvals from the OCC indicates a broader trend of stablecoin and digital asset custody moving from a “crypto-native” approach to one under “bank-grade supervision.”

RLUSD: A $2.5 Billion Stablecoin

Launched in December 2024, RLUSD has rapidly grown to a market capitalization of $2.5 billion. The stablecoin is widely used within Ripple’s payment infrastructure and serves as collateral within Ripple Prime. While smaller in scale compared to USDC, RLUSD benefits from Ripple’s extensive payment network, which spans over 60 countries globally.

Ripple’s OCC approval adds another layer of credibility to RLUSD. Previously regulated solely by the NYDFS, the direct involvement of the federal OCC in reserve management provides a substantial boost in confidence for enterprise users. In the increasingly competitive stablecoin market of 2026, federal oversight is emerging as a key differentiator.

OCC’s Expansion and Legislative Scrutiny

The approval has not been without controversy. Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns, alleging that these new ventures may be circumventing national banking laws and posing risks to the financial system. The Digital Chamber, a cryptocurrency industry organization, countered that national trust bank charters are limited to trust and related activities, and that companies voluntarily accepting federal oversight are not overstepping banking privileges.

This approval also aligns with the OCC’s recent GENIUS Act rulemaking. The OCC finalized the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin rules in October, which will take effect in January 2027, outlining pathways for both banks and non-banks to issue stablecoins. Ripple’s national trust bank is poised to be among the first stablecoin platforms operating under these new federal regulations.

Market Implications: Accelerating the “Banking” of Stablecoins

Ripple’s final OCC approval marks an acceleration in the stablecoin industry’s shift from a “crypto-native” model to one of “bank-grade governance.” The series of approvals for Circle, BitGo, Coinbase, and Crypto.com in late 2025 and 2026, now joined by Ripple, underscores a consistent theme: for stablecoins to evolve from competitive advantages to essential infrastructure, their reserve management and custody operations must be auditable and supervised at the federal level.

For markets like Taiwan, this development prompts observation. As the OCC’s federal oversight model potentially becomes a global standard for stablecoins, questions arise about whether stablecoins issued in Taiwan will require similar central bank-level supervision. Ripple’s dual-track design—federal oversight for reserves and state-level for issuance—could serve as a blueprint for other markets. Furthermore, with the GENIUS Act rules now in effect, Taiwan’s regulatory framework for stablecoins will need to adapt, with its progress by 2027 being a key area to monitor.