Coinbase will move its entire custody business into the new federally chartered entity over three years, as community bankers challenge the OCC’s crypto charter approvals in court.
Coinbase has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the Coinbase National Trust Company (CNTC). This brings the company’s institutional crypto custody services under federal oversight.
The OCC approved the application on Friday, November 6, after the regulator had previously granted preliminary, conditional approval on April 2 – six months after the company submitted its application in October 2025.
“This is an important next chapter for Coinbase and for the trusted custody services we have built for more than a decade,” wrote Rick Schonberg, the trust company’s CEO.
“This charter allows us to bring clear and consistent federal uniformity to our industry-leading custody capabilities, and strengthens the regulatory framework under which we serve customers,” he added.
The company has noted it has been securing digital assets for over 14 years. It was one of several crypto firms – including Ripple and Crypto.com – which applied for a national trust bank charter in 2025.
What the Coinbase charter entails
According to the OCC’s decision, CNTC will act as a fiduciary for digital assets, primarily serving institutional clients. Customers can use their accounts to store, hold, and transfer fiat currencies and digital assets.
Fiat currencies are held in accounts at third-party banks, maintained for the benefit of the client.
The OCC states Coinbase will transition its entire custodial service to the national trust bank over a three-year period.
These activities are currently housed under Coinbase Custody Trust Company, which was chartered as a limited-purpose trust company by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in 2018.
The bank may act as a “finder” by connecting custodial clients with services – such as staking, ‘Prime Trading’, and ‘Prime Financing’ – offered by Coinbase affiliates. The bank will not provide these services itself, and, according to the OCC, the bank does not intend to issue stablecoins.
CNTC is not insured and, as such, the OCC requires the institution to maintain at least $60m in Tier 1 capital.
Additionally, it must hold an amount of liquid assets equal to the greater of the following two values: 50% of that capital or $30m. A separate reserve is also required to cover operating expenses for a 180-day period; conditions which apply for the first three years of its operations.
In April, Coinbase stated it will “not become a commercial bank,” it will not accept deposits from individuals, and it will not engage in fractional reserve banking.
