ICBA Sues OCC Over Crypto Bank Charters, Challenging Coinbase and Circle

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), challenging the regulator's authority to grant national trust bank charters to cryptocurrency companies. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, targets the OCC's February 2026 final rule, which replaced references to 'fiduciary activities' in its chartering regulations with 'the operations of a trust company and activities related thereto.'

The ICBA argues that the OCC has allowed companies primarily engaged in digital-asset activities to obtain federal bank charters without being subject to certain requirements that apply to insured traditional banks. The group claims that the OCC's interpretation of the National Bank Act has enabled crypto firms to obtain national trust charters without operating like conventional trust institutions.

The lawsuit specifically challenges the OCC's treatment of Protego and seeks to prevent the agency from continuing to rely on the disputed rule and 2021 interpretation when approving similar charters. The ICBA also argues that national trust banks can operate without federal deposit insurance and generally do not accept traditional deposits or make conventional loans, allowing chartered crypto firms to avoid certain requirements.

The OCC has declined to comment on the litigation, and the case will determine how much flexibility the agency has when chartering national trust banks whose businesses extend beyond traditional fiduciary services. The ICBA's challenge comes as several major digital-asset companies, including Coinbase and Circle, seek closer integration with the U.S. financial system.