In a recent speech at the Blockchain Association’s Policy Summit, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould stated that his agency intends to revitalize the process of issuing new bank charters, a procedure he argued was once the core of the OCC’s mission but had stagnated in recent years.
Aligning with the Trump administration’s crypto-friendly policy agenda, Gould further emphasized the need to focus on digital-asset focused trust banks and noted that the OCC would not roll back the authority of national trust banks to offer non-fiduciary custody services, including digital assets like cryptocurrency.
De novo charters
Gould stated that de novo chartering – the process by which a bank is created from scratch – is a critical feature of the OCC’s purpose, and argued that new entrants into the banking system competitively benefit consumers by providing innovative services and products.
He noted that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bank charter applications could range from around 50 to 100 per year. That rate drastically fell after the 2008 financial crisis, with between zero and four filed per year in recent times. Gould blamed that shift on discouraging messaging from bank regulators, which often stated that applications for charters or federal deposit insurance would be denied; Gould characterized this pressure as not legally justifiable.
Gould noted that since the change in administration, the number of charter applications per year has jumped up to 14.
National trust banks and digital asset custody
The second component of Gould’s speech touched on criticism issued by existing banks that national trust bank applications would improperly allow non-fiduciary custody, especially in the context of digital assets.
The debate centers on whether national trust banks – uninsured, limited-purpose institutions allowed to offer custody and safekeeping – can also custody digital assets.
OCC precedent since 2020, which was reaffirmed in May, has treated crypto custody as a modern form of traditional custody, enabling crypto firms such as Anchorage and Paxos to seek trust charters. Large bank trade groups have often objected, arguing this stretches OCC authority and gives crypto firms a lighter federal pathway to recognition than traditional banks.
In his speech, Gould argued that the OCC had been expressly authorized to charter national trust banks since the 70s, and that non-fiduciary activities such as safekeeping had always been “fully within the scope” of their activities up until today, where it is estimated that around 25% of their total assets are non-fiduciary custodial assets.
He stated that changing the rules for digital assets just because they rely on new technologies would lead to “stagnation” and weaken the banking system.