Ripple has cleared the last hurdle to its own U.S. federal charter. On October 26, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted final approval for the Ripple trust bank, Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB). The decision closes a process that, according to CoinDesk, began with Ripple’s application in July 2025 and moved forward with a preliminary, conditional approval in December 2025.
Here is what changes, what stays the same and which questions remain open.
Key Takeaways
- The OCC has given final approval to Ripple National Trust Bank, a federally supervised national trust bank.
- RNTB is meant to manage the reserves behind the RLUSD stablecoin, act as collateral trustee for RLUSD holders and offer fiduciary digital asset custody.
- RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, Ripple’s limited purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
- Ripple says RLUSD has grown to a $2.5 billion market capitalization.
What the Ripple trust bank is approved to do
In Ripple’s press release, the company says the OCC granted final approval for chartering Ripple National Trust Bank. The approved activities include managing the segregated reserves supporting RLUSD, acting as collateral trustee of those reserves for the benefit of RLUSD holders, and providing fiduciary digital asset custody services.
The December 2025 approval was explicitly conditional. The OCC’s decision letter states that final approval to commence business would not be granted until all preopening requirements were met. That step is now complete.
RLUSD: what changes and what does not
For holders of the stablecoin, little changes at first. RLUSD continues to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company under NYDFS supervision. What is new is an additional layer: the reserves will be managed by a bank under federal OCC supervision. RLUSD therefore has both state and federal regulators involved.
According to Ripple, RLUSD launched in December 2024 and now has a market capitalization of about $2.5 billion. It is used across Ripple’s payments infrastructure and as collateral within Ripple Prime. Ripple says it is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government securities and other cash equivalents. BNY is the primary reserve custodian, and Ripple publishes monthly independent third-party attestations covering circulating supply and reserve assets.
Fiduciary crypto custody for businesses
The second line of business may matter more to corporate customers. After opening, RNTB is to offer fiduciary custody of digital assets. Ripple describes this as another federally supervised capability for companies that integrate digital assets into payments, trading and treasury operations. The announcement does not give a date for starting operations.
Other providers are expanding custody offerings too. We have already covered how Standard Chartered is bringing crypto custody to Singapore and launching RLUSD custody with Ripple and LMAX.
A trust bank, not a universal bank
The name says it: this is a national trust bank. According to the OCC’s decision letter, it is to conduct the operations of a trust company and related activities, including fiduciary activities. That differs from a commercial bank offering checking accounts to retail customers. For everyday crypto investors, the charter therefore changes nothing directly. It becomes relevant for institutions that want to hold reserves, collateral or digital assets within a federally supervised structure.
The OCC also received public comments during the process. The December 2025 letter mentions, for example, commenters who support evaluating all national trust bank applications on their individual merits and others who call for open API standards and non-discriminatory access. Whether and how such points matter in operation cannot be read from the documents.
The regulatory context
Ripple says it will keep working with the OCC, NYDFS and other regulators as the U.S. implements the framework established by the GENIUS Act. We summarized the details in our article on the OCC GENIUS Act final rule.
The wider picture: according to an analysis by the law firm Baker Botts, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the CLARITY Act on September 15, 2026. Since then, agency rulemaking has moved to the foreground, such as the CFTC proposal on retail crypto transactions and the SEC’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets. Bank charters like Ripple’s are one way to operate within the existing supervisory framework rather than wait for new legislation.
What remains open
- Launch date: The sources available do not state when RNTB will begin operating.
- Fees and clients: Ripple gives no details on pricing or the specific client base for custody.
- Effect on XRP: The approval concerns RLUSD reserves and custody. Ripple continues to use XRP for cross-border payments, but no direct price effect can be derived from the announcement. Markets remain volatile, as our article on the Bitcoin crash below $81,000 shows.
According to CoinDesk, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said crypto and banks work better together and that a national trust charter gives RLUSD and the company’s institutional products a stronger foundation.
What to watch next
- Whether and when the OCC or Ripple announce the start of RNTB operations.
- The monthly RLUSD reserve attestations that Ripple says it publishes.
- Further bank charter applications from the crypto industry that pursue similar trust structures.
- The CFTC comment period on crypto transactions, which runs until December 14, 2026 according to the Federal Register.
Conclusion
The Ripple trust bank is another step toward regulated crypto infrastructure in the United States. For RLUSD it means an additional layer of supervision, and for institutional clients a new custody option under federal oversight. How quickly RNTB opens and what its services cost remains to be seen. This article is not investment advice.
