OCC opens national bank charter pathway for digital asset firms

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has confirmed that digital asset companies performing legally permissible activities have a pathway to obtain national bank charters. This move aims to formalize infrastructure for institutional adoption within the United States.

Currently, there are 13 digital asset firms in the licensing pipeline, including companies such as Circle, Paxos, and Revolut. This follows the recent opening of Erebor Bank, a full-service national bank backed by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, which became operational this summer. Comptroller Jonathan Gould stated that the country is “open for business” regarding these regulatory pathways.