Community Bankers Sue OCC Over Crypto National Trust Charters
The Independent Community Bankers of America alleges the OCC lacks the authority to charter crypto firms as national trust banks when they act outside a fiduciary role.
The Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, arguing the regulator exceeded its legal authority in granting national trust bank charters to cryptocurrency companies.
The complaint was filed on October 2 in federal court in Washington, D.C., and names Comptroller Jonathan Gould as a defendant. At issue is whether the OCC may charter crypto firms as national trust banks when those firms do not operate in a fiduciary capacity.
Scope of the dispute
- Plaintiff: Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)
- Defendant agency: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- Filed: October 2, federal court in Washington, D.C.
- Named official: Comptroller Jonathan Gould
- Core claim: the OCC lacks statutory power to issue these charters
A national trust charter places a firm under a federal supervisory framework rather than a state-by-state patchwork, which is why the boundaries of the OCC's chartering authority have drawn repeated scrutiny. The lawsuit does not, on its face, seek to block crypto firms from operating; it challenges the legal basis on which the charters were issued.
The case adds to an ongoing debate over how far federal banking regulators can go in accommodating digital asset businesses, and it will be decided by the federal courts rather than by the agency itself.