ICBA Sues OCC Over Crypto Bank Charters, Challenges Authority

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), challenging its authority to grant national trust charters to crypto firms. The ICBA argues that the OCC's interpretation of the National Bank Act allows companies engaged primarily in digital-asset activities to obtain federal bank charters without being subject to several requirements that apply to insured traditional banks.

The complaint specifically targets the OCC's decision to permit national trust banks to conduct certain non-fiduciary activities, including custody and safekeeping. The ICBA argues that this interpretation opened the door for crypto companies to obtain national trust charters despite not operating like conventional trust institutions.

The lawsuit challenges 21 trust bank approvals, including those of Coinbase National Trust Company and World Liberty Trust Company, an entity linked to the Trump family's crypto venture. The ICBA seeks to invalidate the OCC's March 2026 chartering rule and its 2021 Interpretive Letter 1176.