Warren presses OCC over 'ineligible' crypto trust charter approvals

Senator Elizabeth Warren has formally challenged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and its chief, Jonathan Gould, arguing in a letter that the agency has approved at least nine national trust charters for crypto firms in ways that appear to exceed the narrow activities permitted under the National Bank Act. Warren said those approvals risk allowing crypto firms to operate as de facto banks while avoiding core bank safeguards.

In the letter, which media outlets reported on May 19, 2026, Warren asks the OCC to produce full charter applications, supporting legal analyses and any communications between the agency and White House officials or members of the Trump family relating to the approvals. Names cited in press coverage include Coinbase, Ripple, Paxos, Circle, BitGo and Fidelity Digital Assets; Warren set a June 1, 2026 deadline for the requested records. She flagged activities such as staking, lending and certain stablecoin-related services as potentially beyond the fiduciary scope of a trust charter.

The OCC’s national trust charters can grant crypto firms access to payment rails and other banking functions without necessarily subjecting them to the same regulatory regime as full-service national banks, raising concerns about competitive neutrality and safety-and-soundness standards among traditional banks and regulators. Banking trade groups have signaled unease and in some cases discussed legal challenges to the OCC’s interpretations.

The episode underscores a broader regulatory shift since late 2025 in which agency interpretations and conditional approvals have shaped crypto firms’ paths into the banking system; it also increases pressure on Congress to clarify statutory boundaries if courts or regulators cannot resolve the disputes. Observers note the significance of OCC internal legal rationales and any potential contacts with the White House as factors that could influence subsequent oversight or litigation.

Market participants and legal analysts say Warren’s letter is likely to force greater transparency from the OCC in the near term, and it could trigger legislative attention or court action if disagreements persist. The requested documentation and any OCC response will be watched closely by banks, crypto firms and investors as they assess whether the approvals signal an enduring policy change or a contested regulatory outlier.