Coinbase Federal Trust Charter Takes Effect on Nov. 6 for Digital Asset Custody
Key Facts
The Coinbase National Trust Company charter took effect on Nov. 6, 2026, following approval by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on April 2, according to the agency’s registry. The registry classifies the entity as a new national bank in trust bank form, with proposed charter number 25390. Coinbase filed its application on Oct. 3, 2025. The company said the charter would consolidate federal oversight of its digital asset custody capabilities, describing it as providing “federal consistency and clarity” for custody operations. The effective date follows a conditional approval period, placing the company under a federal framework for fiduciary custody services.
The OCC’s decision limits the bank’s operations to trust company business and related activities under its business plan. The entity intends to hold digital assets in a fiduciary capacity, which the agency described as trust company operations. Coinbase said in April that federal oversight would consolidate supervision of custody operations and market infrastructure, and could lay the groundwork for future products including payments and related services. The decision does not, however, turn the entity into a commercial bank; the company said it would not accept retail deposits or engage in fractional-reserve banking. CoinDesk also reported that the charter does not entail full-service banking activities involving deposit-taking and lending.
The decision allows the bank to facilitate custody clients’ access to services offered by Coinbase affiliates, acting as an intermediary. The services mentioned include staking and financing connected to assets in custody. This places fiduciary custody with the bank, while allowing it to refer clients to affiliate services, without the decision stating that the bank itself will provide those services. By contrast, the bank does not propose to issue stablecoins, so the OCC deemed discussion of their issuance irrelevant to the application. These conditions define the charter’s scope as custody and related fiduciary activities.
Coinbase Custody Trust Company, a group affiliate, was the focus of existing institutional custody operations, according to the application filed with the OCC. The application said it is a limited-purpose trust company chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services since 2018. As of June 30, 2025, the company held $245.7 billion in assets, about 7% of the market value of all crypto assets at that time, according to the application. It also said trading volume from the start of 2025 through that date totaled $237 billion, and assets on the Coinbase platform reached $425 billion. These figures show the activity described in the application as of mid-2025, while the decision set no timeline for transferring all custody operations to the new entity.
The OCC’s approval comes amid debate over its authority to grant national trust charters to digital asset companies. The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the agency on Oct. 2, 2026, alleging that it exceeded its authority by granting limited charters to cryptocurrency companies; these are the association’s allegations, not a court ruling. Amendments to the national chartering rule took effect on April 1, 2026, with the aim of aligning it more closely with the agency’s statutory mandate. The OCC received five comments on Coinbase’s application, four of which addressed the agency’s authority to grant the charter. In its approval decision, the agency noted that uninsured national trust banks under its supervision had $7 trillion in assets under management on Dec. 31, 2025, including $1.7 trillion in custody and fiduciary accounts.
The charter comes as Coinbase’s third-quarter 2026 results showed growth in its institutional activity and a broader mix of revenue sources. The company captured 10.7% of cryptocurrency trading volume in the quarter, marking gains for a fourth consecutive quarter as spot and derivatives trading grew. Assets on the platform represented 12.5% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization, while the average amount of USDC held in the company’s products was $22 billion, or about 30% of its average market capitalization during the quarter. Subscription and services revenue accounted for 49% of net revenue, and the company said cryptocurrency derivatives trading volume grew at a compound annual rate of 179% over the previous two years. Net income was $719 million, adjusted net income was $78 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $333 million, up 60% from the previous quarter.
More broadly, Ripple received a full federal trust charter the previous month, according to CoinDesk, signaling cryptocurrency companies’ move toward this type of charter. Coinbase Vice President Ryan VanGrack said the company had spent years calling for clear rules and strong oversight, adding that the OCC’s approval was “another step toward integrating digital assets into the core infrastructure of the U.S. financial system.” The next step enabled by the OCC’s approval is for the entity to begin operating under its business plan and regulatory conditions, while custody, staking and financing services remain governed by the division of roles between the bank and its affiliates. The decision gave no specific date for completing any transfer of existing operations. Payments and related services remain products that Coinbase said it may build on in the future, rather than services the bank announced it would launch under the decision.