Ripple Says OCC Has Granted Final Approval for Ripple National Trust Bank

According to Ripple, the federally supervised trust bank is approved to manage the reserves backing RLUSD, act as collateral trustee for holders and offer digital asset custody once it opens; RLUSD issuance stays with Ripple's New York-regulated trust company.

Ripple Says OCC Has Granted Final Approval for Ripple National Trust Bank — editorial cover artwork
Ripple Says OCC Has Granted Final Approval for Ripple National Trust Bank — editorial cover artwork

By Margaret Liu, Journalist, CBDCs and Regulation

Ripple says the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted final approval to charter Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB), a federally supervised national trust bank. Ripple announced the approval on 26 October 2026; at the time of checking, the decision was not listed among the OCC's own news releases, so the details below are as described by Ripple.

According to Ripple, RNTB's approved activities include managing the segregated reserves backing Ripple USD (RLUSD), acting as collateral trustee of those reserves for the benefit of RLUSD holders, and providing fiduciary digital asset custody.

The bank is approved, not yet operating. Ripple's release describes what RNTB will be authorised to do "upon opening" and says Ripple will keep working with regulators "as RNTB begins operations". No opening date was given.

What changes for RLUSD

The charter does not move RLUSD's issuer. RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company (SCTC), Ripple's limited purpose trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). What changes is the reserve side: once RNTB opens, a federally chartered Ripple entity is to manage the reserves and act as their trustee.

Function — Entity — Supervisor

RLUSD issuance — Standard Custody & Trust Company — NYDFS

Reserve management and collateral trustee — Ripple National Trust Bank (once open) — OCC

Primary reserve custodian — BNY — —

Ripple says RLUSD is backed by US dollar deposits, US government securities and other cash equivalents, with BNY as primary reserve custodian and monthly third-party attestations. It put RLUSD's market capitalisation at $2.5 billion in the 26 October release.

From conditional to final approval

The OCC granted preliminary conditional approval on 12 December 2025, in a letter addressed to Ripple Labs about its application to charter Ripple National Trust Bank, New York, New York. Final approval is the step that follows once an organising bank has met the OCC's pre-opening requirements. Ripple applied in July 2025, according to CoinDesk.

Ripple describes RNTB's approved business as fiduciary: reserve management, trusteeship and custody. The release does not describe deposit-taking or lending.

Why a federal charter matters

The charter arrives as the US implements the GENIUS Act. The OCC announced its final rule implementing the Act on 21 October. For RLUSD, the charter adds federal supervision to the entity that is to manage the stablecoin's reserves, alongside the state supervision of its issuer. Ripple said it will continue to work with the OCC, NYDFS and other regulators "as the U.S. implements the regulatory framework established by the GENIUS Act."

"For years, we've said crypto and banks work better together. Final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank is what that looks like in practice," Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse said in the release.

The approval also gives Ripple a federally supervised custody business beyond RLUSD. The release does not say when custody services will start or which clients they will target.

Sources

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