Coinbase wins initial bank regulator nod for trust charter, boosting custody push

Coinbase’s conditional OCC approval moves it closer to operating as a federally regulated crypto custodian, pending compliance and final review.

What to know:

• Coinbase has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust company charter, a key step toward becoming a federally regulated crypto custodian.
• The preliminary green light requires Coinbase to build out compliance systems, hire key staff, pass regulatory reviews and demonstrate strong risk management and anti-money-laundering controls before it can secure a full charter.
• A finalized charter would let Coinbase operate a non-insured national trust company focused on digital asset custody, supporting its push to generate steadier revenue from institutional clients beyond trading fees.

Coinbase (COIN) said Thursday it had received initial approval for a national trust company charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Bloomberg reported, marking a step toward it operating as a federally regulated crypto custodian.

The approval is not final. It is a conditional green light that sets out requirements Coinbase must meet before it can receive a full charter. These typically include building out compliance systems, hiring key personnel and undergoing regulatory reviews. The OCC also expects firms to show they can manage risk, protect client assets and follow anti-money laundering rules. Only after those steps are complete can the agency grant full approval.

“We still need final approval… our business will not operate under an OCC charter until we have that final approval,” Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase told CoinDesk. "This next phase allows us to get into more detail on how we can extend our business in ways that are exciting and important for crypto’s development.”

If finalized, the charter would allow Coinbase to run a non-insured national trust company. That structure permits the firm to hold digital assets on behalf of clients but bars it from taking deposits or making loans.

Coinbase first applied for the charter in October, alongside firms such as Ripple. More recently, Citadel-backed exchange EDX Markets said it had filed for a similar structure. The cluster of applications points to growing demand for regulated custody as large investors enter crypto markets.

For institutions, custody is less about trading and more about trust. A pension fund, for example, may want exposure to bitcoin but needs a regulated entity to hold the asset securely. A federal charter can provide that assurance in a way state licenses may not.

The move aligns with Coinbase’s effort to rely less on trading fees, which can swing with market cycles. Custody offers steadier revenue. The company already acts as custodian for several U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, holding the underlying assets on behalf of fund managers.

“The big opportunity going forward would be payments… custody-adjacent but separate,” Grewal said. "We think we’ll be able to offer a much wider range of products and services to our customers than ever before.”

UPDATE (April 2, 16:57 UTC): Adds comments from Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal.

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