National Trust Charters For Crypto Under Fire—Senator Warren Says It Goes Beyond The Law

Senator Elizabeth Warren is taking a new aim at the crypto industry, now challenging how the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has handled national trust bank charters for digital asset firms. Her latest concern centers on the OCC’s approvals—some granted on a conditional basis over recent months—at a time when the conventional banking sector has already been raising objections throughout the year. Warren Challenges OCC On Crypto Charters Bloomberg reports that Warren’s argument is that at least some of the companies appear to be “seemingly ineligible” for the type of charter they are receiving. In her letter to Jonathan Gould, the head of the OCC, the Senator said the regulator has approved at least nine national trust charters for crypto companies that, in her view, “appear to go far beyond the narrow set of activities permitted by law.” Warren went further, describing what she sees as an “apparent violation of the National Bank Act.” Among the approvals mentioned are those granted to crypto giants such as Ripple, Circle (CRCL), BitGo, Fidelity, and Paxos in December of last year. Others, such as Coinbase (COIN), received conditional approval from the OCC to establish Coinbase National Trust Company. Around the same timeframe, Kraken’s parent company, Payward, also filed an application seeking approval for a National Trust Company charter. Those approvals would allow these companies to manage and hold assets on behalf of customers—an arrangement that could speed up payment settlement compared with older processing timelines. However, Warren’s critique is not only about what the trust charters allow today, but also about where she believes some firms may be headed next. OCC’s Defense Per the report, the Massachusetts Democrat argued that some companies are trying to move past traditional custody and into business areas that look more like banking operations. That includes activities such as lending, payments, and running trading platform-type services. In her view, easing rules for trust companies this year could effectively enable crypto firms to broaden their financial activities too far, without the same level of constraints and oversight that typically apply to banks. Warren framed the concern as follows: if crypto firms are permitted to engage in bank-like businesses without “the same regulations and safeguards,” it could create problems for consumer protection and for overall stability in the financial system. Yet, the Senator is not the only critic of the OCC’s approach. Traditional banks have voiced their own apprehension throughout the year, arguing that the OCC’s approvals stretch the historical intent behind the national trust bank charter. The OCC, through Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, has defended its actions. Last year, Gould emphasized that bringing new entrants into the federal banking system could improve competition and deliver additional products and services. From his perspective, the OCC’s approach is beneficial for both consumers and the broader banking industry, and it supports modernization rather than regulatory dilution. Featured image created with OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com