ICBA Sues OCC Over Crypto Bank Charter Approvals

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is facing another legal challenge over its decision to grant national trust bank charters to cryptocurrency companies. The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has filed a lawsuit against the OCC, arguing that the regulator exceeded its statutory authority by allowing crypto firms to pursue these charters for activities beyond fiduciary work.

The ICBA claims that the OCC's decision allows companies to obtain national trust bank charters to conduct substantial non-fiduciary activities, which goes beyond what Congress authorized. The group is asking the court to direct the OCC back to its statutory limits and ensure that crypto firms do not receive federal banking credibility without meeting key banking obligations such as capital and liquidity standards, FDIC insurance, and consolidated supervision.

The trust charter framework matters because it sits in a regulatory middle ground between traditional commercial banking and narrower trust or fiduciary operations. The ICBA is not claiming that the charters replicate full-service banks in every respect but rather that the OCC is allegedly allowing the charters to be used in ways that resemble broader banking participation without corresponding regulatory burdens.