A leading US community bank lobby has taken the country’s national bank regulator to court over crypto trust charters, arguing that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) lacked the legal authority to grant them to digital asset firms.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) filed the lawsuit in federal court on Friday, October 2, according to CoinDesk. The group says the National Bank Act does not allow the OCC to hand national trust bank charters to crypto companies, and it describes the charters as a “side door” into the banking system.
What Is a National Trust Charter?
A national trust bank charter lets a firm operate as a federally supervised trust bank, holding and managing assets on behalf of clients. Unlike a full commercial bank, a trust bank generally does not make loans or take deposits. For crypto firms, such a charter can offer federal oversight and a recognised route to safeguarding digital assets, which is why the licences have been so sought after.
What the ICBA Says About Crypto Trust Charters
The ICBA’s core complaint about crypto trust charters is competitive fairness. It argues that crypto trust banks gain the credibility of a federal charter without being held to the same standards on capital, liquidity, supervision and FDIC insurance that apply to traditional banks, which leaves community banks at a disadvantage. ICBA president Rebeca Romero Rainey said Congress did not create the national trust charter for that purpose.
The Bank Policy Institute, another banking industry group, backed the call for rigorous and uniform standards across the banking system. The OCC told CoinDesk it does not comment on litigation.
Which Crypto Firms Hold Charters
Several of the names are among the best known in the industry: Coinbase operates one of the largest US crypto exchanges, while Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin. For the community banks the ICBA represents, which are far smaller institutions, the idea of such firms gaining federal bank status without matching obligations is the heart of the dispute.
The OCC has granted crypto trust charters to a string of crypto-linked firms, including Coinbase, Circle, Crypto.com, Protego, Erebor and World Liberty Financial. OpenReserve Bank received a full national bank charter rather than a trust charter, according to the report.
Why It Matters for the Crypto Market
The lawsuit over crypto trust charters lands as sentiment toward digital assets has been recovering. On October 1, Citigroup raised its 12-month bitcoin price target to $113,000 from $82,000, citing renewed ETF inflows and a supportive macro backdrop, as reported by CoinDesk. US spot bitcoin ETFs have moved back into net inflows for the year, about $800 million by late September, after earlier outflows of $5.8 billion. Bitcoin was trading near $85,000 and ether near $2,700 at the time of that report.
Citi’s note also carried a regulatory warning: rules written by agencies, rather than passed by Congress, could be rolled back if the administration changes in 2028. That is the same kind of exposure the ICBA is now probing in court, since the charters were granted by a regulator rather than created by new legislation. Markets had briefly come under pressure in September after the Clarity Act was rejected.
What Happens Next
The case has only just been filed, and no hearing date has been reported. If the court sides with the ICBA, it could raise questions about the status of crypto trust charters already granted. If the OCC prevails, regulators’ authority to charter crypto trust banks would be reinforced. Both outcomes are possibilities rather than predictions.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Prices are as reported on October 1.
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