Update: March 12, 2 am UTC: This article has been updated to include a response from Ankita Dhawan.
A US trade group made up of some of the country’s biggest banks is reportedly considering suing the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), arguing that granting crypto firms bank charters could put Americans and the financial system at risk.
According to a report on Monday by The Guardian, citing a “source familiar with the lobby’s thinking,” the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is weighing legal options after the OCC failed to heed warnings from banking groups over its reinterpretation of federal licensing rules.
Ankita Dhawan, the founder of Web3 public policy advisory firm Consilium, told Cointelegraph the BPI's argument that the OCC bypassed formal rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act, effectively redefining the scope of banking through interpretive guidance, without the requisite public notice and comment, is “in principle, a legitimate legal concern.”
“However, a sudden reversal risks a one-step-forward, two-steps-back scenario for the digital assets sector, especially following the creation of new enabling pathways under the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act,” she said.
“If litigation proceeds and injunctive relief is granted, companies already in the chartering process could face significant operational uncertainty — and that uncertainty has a destination. Innovation and capital will move to more agile global jurisdictions.”
Crypto firms lining up for national trust charters
In December, the OCC granted conditional national trust bank charter approvals to several crypto firms, including BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple and Paxos. A growing number of other crypto companies have followed suit since.
Blockchain infrastructure firm Zerohash submitted an application on Feb. 27. The OCC also issued conditional licenses to Crypto.com, Bridge, and Stripe in February.
The Trump-backed World Liberty Financial also applied for a charter in January to expand the use of its USD1 stablecoin, but is still waiting for a decision.
BPI, which counts major US institutions such as Goldman Sachs, American Express, and JPMorgan among its members, is also concerned that crypto firms with national trust bank charters pose risks to the wider financial system.
A national trust bank charter is a federal license from the OCC that permits a company to operate as a trust bank under federal law and engage in fiduciary activities such as trust services, custody and asset safekeeping.
“For digital asset companies that have spent years navigating regulatory grey zones, OCC chartering is transformative. It doesn't just offer federal recognition; it provides seamless 50-state access and a potential path to the Federal Reserve's infrastructure,” Dhawan said.
“That is the fundamental difference between being treated as a niche, new-age outlier and being recognised as a legitimate financial institution,” she added.
“The defining feature of digital assets in moments like these is their reliable 24/7 operation, across borders, without the friction of correspondent banking or settlement windows. Regulatory legitimacy accelerates that dynamic. Without it, credible market participants remain on the sidelines.”
Banking group hasn’t made the final call yet
According to The Guardian, the BPI has not yet made a final decision on whether to pursue legal action against the OCC. Cointelegraph contacted the Bank Policy Institute for comment.
Related: Bankers push OCC to slow crypto trust charters until GENIUS rules clarified
In October, the BPI released a statement urging the OCC to reject national trust company charter applications from a group of crypto firms, including Ripple and Circle. The BPI argued that granting these charters would result in less oversight than is required for full-service national banks.
The BPI was also among a group of banks and business associations that filed a lawsuit against the Federal Reserve in late 2024 over its stress-testing framework for assessing the health and resilience of the banking sector. The Fed has since agreed to reconsider parts of the framework and the case has been paused.
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