Federal Trust Bank Charter Officially Activated for Coinbase
Under its newly granted federal charter, Coinbase is set to broaden its institutional cryptocurrency custody operations and is examining potential digital asset payment solutions.
The national trust bank charter for Coinbase officially became effective on Friday, as confirmed by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
According to the OCC's filing record, the company submitted its charter application in October 2025 and secured preliminary approval in April 2026. Under this charter, Coinbase National Trust Company is authorized to maintain digital assets for clients in a fiduciary capacity, as stated in the OCC's preliminary approval letter.
According to its charter application, Coinbase intends to provide institutional clients with segregated custody accounts, offering access to staking, financing and trading services through other Coinbase entities.
The application submitted by Coinbase also detailed intentions to investigate digital asset payment products and custody services that would enable clients to engage with select smart contracts.
Among other crypto companies that have obtained OCC national trust bank charters are Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos.
Conditional approval has been granted to Crypto.com and Stripe-owned Bridge, while Kraken and EDX Markets continue to pursue their charter applications.