Key Takeaways:
- Ripple has applied for a national bank charter and a Federal Reserve Master Account to deepen regulatory compliance and stablecoin trust.
- The move aligns with Circle’s similar application and comes amid new U.S. Senate legislation aimed at standardizing stablecoin oversight.
- Ripple USD (RLUSD) is already regulated by NYDFS, and direct Fed access would enhance its operational security.
Ripple Labs has formally applied for a U.S. national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), aiming to become a federally regulated bank.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the move on X, calling it a major step toward strengthening trust in Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, which is already regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services.
True to our long-standing compliance roots, @Ripple is applying for a national bank charter from the OCC. If approved, we would have both state (via NYDFS) and federal oversight, a new (and unique!) benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 2, 2025
Earlier in the week via… https://t.co/IdiR7x3eWZ
If approved, Ripple would join Anchorage Digital as one of the few crypto firms with such a license, placing it under both federal and state oversight.
The application aligns with growing momentum in the crypto industry toward regulatory compliance, following Circle’s similar OCC application just days earlier.
Circle, issuer of USDC, also seeks a national trust bank license to manage stablecoin reserves.
These efforts come amid the passage of the GENIUS Act in the U.S. Senate, which proposes OCC oversight for major U.S. dollar-pegged tokens.
Additionally, Ripple has applied for a Federal Reserve Master Account via Standard Custody, a firm it acquired in February 2024.
This would allow it to hold RLUSD reserves directly with the Fed, enhancing security and operational trust.
Garlinghouse noted that U.S. banks are now more receptive to crypto than in previous years.
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