Stripe owned stablecoin platform Bridge has won conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a national trust bank, a move that could bring its stablecoin services under direct federal oversight.
Key Takeaways
- Bridge received conditional approval from the OCC to establish a national trust bank focused on stablecoin services.
- If it gets final approval, Bridge could offer stablecoin issuance, digital asset custody, reserve management, and stablecoin orchestration nationwide under a federal framework.
- The decision comes as more crypto firms pursue trust bank charters, while banking groups like the American Bankers Association warn regulators may be moving too fast.
What Happened?
Bridge said Tuesday that it has gained conditional approval from the OCC to set up a national trust bank. The Stripe owned company said the approval “positions Bridge to help enterprises, fintechs, crypto businesses and financial institutions build with digital dollars inside a clear federal framework.”
Bridge has received OCC conditional approval to organize a federally chartered national trust bank. This will enable us to operate stablecoin products and services under direct federal oversight, including:
— Bridge (@Stablecoin) February 17, 2026
– Custody
– Orchestration
– Issuance
– Reserves management
Stablecoins…
Why Bridge Wants a Trust Bank Charter?
Bridge operates as a stablecoin orchestration and financial infrastructure platform. In simple terms, it helps businesses move value between traditional fiat rails and blockchain networks without having to build every piece of stablecoin plumbing themselves.
If Bridge receives final approval from the OCC, it would be able to provide a full set of stablecoin focused services under direct federal oversight, including:
- Custody of digital assets for business customers
- Stablecoin issuance and orchestration
- Stablecoin reserve management
Bridge also highlighted that operating under a national trust bank framework could reduce the need to secure separate state level money transmitter licenses across the country, giving customers a single federal compliance lane for certain stablecoin activities.
Stripe’s Bigger Push Into Blockchain Payments
The approval is the latest milestone for Stripe’s return to crypto infrastructure. Stripe acquired Bridge in October 2024 in a deal reportedly valued at $1.1 billion, embedding Bridge’s regulated digital dollar infrastructure into Stripe’s broader payments stack.
Bridge’s technology already supports real world stablecoin issuance through Stripe’s Open Issuance platform. The company currently powers stablecoin issuance for products like Phantom’s CASH and MetaMask’s mUSD, showing how stablecoins are becoming consumer facing features inside mainstream wallets and apps.
GENIUS Act Claims and the Regulatory Gap
Bridge says its systems already meet the compliance standards outlined in the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a stablecoin law passed last year aimed at regulating stablecoin issuers.
At the same time, Bridge noted a key reality: federal banking regulators including the OCC, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have not yet instituted the specific regulations mandated by the GENIUS Act, although the process is underway. That means companies are positioning themselves early for the rulebook that is still being written.
A Growing Line of Crypto Firms Seeking OCC Charters
Bridge is not alone in trying to bring stablecoin operations inside a federal structure. Several crypto facing entities have recently received conditional approval to establish national trust banks.
In December, Ripple and Circle received similar conditional approvals, and other names reported in the same wave include Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, and BitGo. Separately, Erebor Bank was granted a conditional national bank charter in October.
OCC records also show Bridge applied for its charter in October, and the regulator signed off on the conditional approval last week. The OCC has not announced a timeline for final approval.
Bankers Push Back on Crypto Trust Charters
The move has drawn criticism from traditional banking groups. The American Bankers Association argued in a letter last week that key provisions under the GENIUS Act are still unclear for newly approved entities. Bankers also worry that stablecoin companies could use national trust charters to sidestep oversight, and the group has lobbied against yield generating returns on crypto linked products.
This tension sets up a familiar clash: crypto firms want clarity and national scale, while banks want regulators to move carefully and apply consistent standards across the financial system.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
I see this as a big signal that the stablecoin business is moving from “interesting fintech experiment” to real financial infrastructure. In my experience, companies do not chase federal charters unless they expect serious demand from large customers who want regulated rails and clean compliance. The pushback from banking groups also makes sense, because once stablecoins get a clear federal path, they become a direct competitor to parts of the traditional payments and deposits world. If Bridge gets final approval, it could make it much easier for mainstream businesses to adopt digital dollars without feeling like they are stepping into a legal gray area.
