ICBA Sues OCC Over Crypto Charter Approvals

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in federal court in Washington, D.C. The complaint, filed on October 2, alleges that the OCC lacks the power to charter non-fiduciary crypto firms as national trust banks.

The lawsuit targets three OCC actions: the March 2026 final rule, Interpretive Letter 1176 from January 2021, and Protego's conditional approval in February 2026. According to the filing, OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould authored the 2021 letter as the OCC's senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel.

ICBA argues that the OCC misread a 1978 amendment to the National Bank Act, which they claim allows the OCC to charter trust banks that neither take deposits nor act as fiduciaries. The group also cites the major questions doctrine, saying that such broad power needs clear approval from Congress.

The complaint also notes that the OCC gave commenters only a two-page response to the 2021 letter, which skipped the public notice and comment process that federal law requires. ICBA wants the rule, the letter, and Protego's approval vacated, and for the OCC to be barred from using either policy to grant or conditionally approve any charter.