Ripple wins final US approval for national trust bank

Ripple has received final US regulatory approval to establish Ripple National Trust Bank, giving the company a federally supervised entity for stablecoin reserve management and digital asset custody. The company announced the decision on October 26, saying the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had completed its charter approval process.

The authorization follows preliminary conditional approval granted on December 12, 2025. That earlier decision explicitly required Ripple to satisfy preopening requirements before the bank could receive final authorization to commence business, making the latest announcement a separate regulatory milestone rather than a repeat of the initial clearance.

According to Ripple’s announcement, the approved activities include managing segregated reserves supporting its RLUSD stablecoin and acting as collateral trustee for the benefit of token holders. The bank will also be authorized to provide fiduciary digital asset custody, extending its intended business beyond supporting Ripple’s own stablecoin infrastructure.

The arrangement separates reserve-related responsibilities from token issuance. RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, Ripple’s limited-purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services, while the national trust bank adds federal supervision to the supporting structure.

That distinction matters because approval of a reserve-management and custody entity is not the same as replacing the stablecoin’s issuer. Ripple is describing a structure with different regulated entities performing different functions, rather than a transfer of every RLUSD activity into a single federally chartered institution.

The OCC’s original decision framed the proposed bank as a trust company conducting fiduciary activities and related operations. Its preliminary approval was not an unrestricted authorization: the regulator retained the ability to modify, suspend or rescind that decision before final approval if intervening developments warranted action.

Ripple’s application also formed part of a broader group of digital asset-related charter decisions. In December 2025, the OCC conditionally approved new national trust bank applications for Ripple and First National Digital Currency Bank, alongside applications involving BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos to convert existing state trust companies.

For institutional customers, the practical significance lies in the regulated services the bank can provide, not simply its designation as a bank. Reserve administration and fiduciary custody address distinct parts of digital asset infrastructure: one supports the assets backing a stablecoin, while the other concerns safeguarding assets entrusted by customers.

The next stage is operational implementation. Ripple said it would continue working with the OCC, New York regulators and other authorities as the trust bank begins operations. The announcement establishes the regulatory clearance; the rollout of its approved services will determine how that authorization translates into the company’s wider institutional business.