Coinbase has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate a national trust bank, the company confirmed. The charter, granted last week, follows a conditional approval issued in April 2026 and allows Coinbase to offer crypto custody, payment-related operations and stablecoin services under federal oversight.
The new entity, Coinbase National Trust, cannot accept deposits from ordinary customers or provide traditional commercial loans. It operates as a trust bank rather than a full commercial bank, holding and protecting digital assets on behalf of clients.
What the Charter Covers
The approval permits Coinbase to provide crypto custody services within a federal regulatory framework. It also supports payment-related operations and the company’s stablecoin business, including issuing tokens and managing stablecoins for other companies.
Coinbase is not alone in reaching this stage. Ripple, Circle, Paxos and BitGo have also won OCC approval for national trust bank charters, while Revolut has received conditional approval. These firms now fall under the same federal agency that supervises national banks, though each operates as a trust bank rather than a full commercial bank.
Banking Group Pushback and Regulatory Developments
The OCC’s decisions to grant charters to crypto companies have drawn opposition from traditional banking groups. The Independent Community Bankers of America recently sued the regulator, questioning whether the OCC has the legal authority to issue certain charters to digital asset firms.
Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed changes to existing broker-dealer rules covering capital requirements, customer asset protection and recordkeeping for firms that handle digital assets.
The charter approval came after a legal win for Coinbase in New Jersey, where state regulators dropped a lawsuit over the company’s staking services and lifted a related cease-and-desist order. Staking lets users lock up certain crypto tokens to help run a blockchain network in exchange for rewards.
Financial Results and Stock Reaction
Coinbase reported $719 million in net income for the third quarter of 2026, compared with $433 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA reached $333 million, up 60% from the previous quarter and marking the company’s 15th straight profitable quarter on that measure.
Despite the higher profit, Coinbase shares dropped about 10% after the earnings report was released. The stock also did not gain on the charter news, trading at $134.76 after falling 1.51% over the past trading day.
