- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved Ripple National Trust Bank, allowing Ripple to run a specialized bank under US federal supervision, CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on X late Monday, CoinDesk reported.
- Ripple applied for the license in July 2025, and the OCC gave it conditional approval that December before signing off fully this week, about 10 months after the conditional approval (Lumida calculation).
- The bank will manage and act as trustee for the reserves backing Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and offer regulated custody to large companies using crypto for payments, trading and treasury management. RLUSD will still be issued by Ripple’s New York-regulated unit, Standard Custody & Trust Company, so the stablecoin now has both state and federal regulators overseeing parts of its setup.
- RLUSD debuted in December 2024 and has grown to a market value of about $2.5 billion, among the world’s top 50 stablecoins. It is backed by US dollar deposits, US government securities and other cash-like assets, with BNY holding most of the reserves, and it is used in Ripple’s payments business and as collateral on Ripple Prime.
What Happened?
Ripple, which builds blockchain and crypto tools for cross-border transactions and tokenization, received final OCC approval for Ripple National Trust Bank after a process that started with its July 2025 application. CoinDesk said the move gives one of crypto’s biggest players a traditional banking-style license. The approval fits Garlinghouse’s long-running pitch that crypto companies should build products banks and big institutions can actually use. Ripple also uses XRP, the world’s fifth-largest digital asset, to facilitate cross-border transactions.
Why It Matters?
A federal trust charter pulls a major crypto firm further into the regulated financial system and adds a layer of oversight to RLUSD, which could make the stablecoin easier for institutions to use as collateral and in payments. Moving reserve management and custody under an OCC-supervised entity strengthens Ripple’s pitch to corporate treasuries and trading firms, at a time when US stablecoin rules are being set. For XRP holders and the wider crypto market, it is another sign that digital-asset companies are gaining access to bank-like infrastructure.
What’s Next?
Ripple said it will keep working with the OCC, New York regulators and others as the bank begins operating, especially as the US rolls out its new stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act. Investors will watch how quickly the bank takes over trusteeship of RLUSD reserves, whether its custody business wins large corporate clients, and whether RLUSD’s roughly $2.5 billion market value grows with the added federal oversight.
Affected Tickers and Coins: XRP, RLUSD
Source: CoinDesk
