The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), accusing the U.S. regulator of exceeding its legal authority by granting national trust bank charters to cryptocurrency firms.
According to the lawsuit, the banking group claims the agency is pushing sweeping new powers to charter national trust banks that are not authorized by the National Bank Act. The ICBA argues that the influx of digital asset trust banks allows crypto companies to enter the U.S. banking system without being subjected to the same level of regulatory oversight as community banks, placing smaller institutions at a severe competitive disadvantage.
ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey stated that Congress did not create the national trust charter as a side door into the banking system for crypto firms seeking the credibility of a federal bank charter. The group contends that these firms do not face the same obligations regarding capital, liquidity, supervision, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insurance requirements.
An OCC spokesperson declined to comment on the litigation when asked. The regulator has previously granted national trust charters to various crypto firms and businesses—such as Protego, Erebor, Coinbase, Circle, and Crypto.com—as well as World Liberty Financial and a full national bank charter to OpenReserve Bank.
