Warren Questions OCC Over Crypto Trust Charters

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing OCC chief Jonathan Gould over national trust charters granted to crypto firms, arguing that some companies appear ineligible under the National Bank Act.

In a May 18 letter, Warren said the OCC had approved at least nine crypto-related national trust charters since December 2025. She warned that some firms appear to be seeking powers that go beyond the limited activities allowed for national trust companies.

Warren Says Crypto Trust Powers Are Being Stretched

The legal dispute centers on what a national trust company can do. Warren argued that trust charters do not carry the same restrictions, oversight and obligations as full-service national banks. She said they should not be used as a shortcut into broader banking activity.

National trust banks are generally limited to fiduciary and related trust activities. Warren said some crypto firms’ business plans point to non-fiduciary custody, payments, lending and stablecoin activity that looks closer to ordinary banking.

Letter Names Nine Crypto Trust Charters

The firms listed in Warren’s letter include Ripple National Trust Bank, Paxos Trust Company, First National Digital Currency Bank, Fidelity Digital Asset Services, BitGo Trust Company, Foris DAX National Trust Bank, National Digital Trust Company, Bridge National Trust Bank and Coinbase National Trust Company.

Warren also asked for communications between the OCC and President Donald Trump, Trump family members and people acting on their behalf regarding those charter approvals. She requested full charter applications and supporting legal analyses as part of her inquiry.

December OCC Approvals Fuel Charter Dispute

The challenge follows a more open OCC stance toward crypto trust-bank applications. In December, the agency conditionally approved national trust bank charters for Circle and Ripple, along with conversions for BitGo, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets.

Those conditional approvals, if finalized, would allow the firms to hold customer assets and support faster payment settlement. They would not allow the firms to take cash deposits or make loans.

Crypto Banking Fight Expands to Federal Charters

The immediate issue is not whether the charters will be revoked, but whether the OCC can justify them under existing trust-bank law. For crypto firms, a national trust charter can offer federal supervision, potential nationwide reach and more credibility with institutional clients.

For Warren, the concern is that the OCC may be stretching trust-bank authority to let crypto companies act like banks without the full regulatory burden applied to banks. Her letter shows that the fight over crypto access to the banking system is expanding beyond stablecoin rules and market structure bills into the federal chartering process itself.