Bank group sues U.S. regulator over granting crypto trust charters
The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, arguing it lacks authority to grant national trust-bank charters to crypto firms. The group says these firms enter the banking system without the capital, liquidity, supervision and deposit-insurance obligations applied to community banks, creating unfair competition. The OCC declined to comment. Crypto companies including Coinbase, Circle, Crypto.com and World Liberty Financial have pursued trust charters; the OCC also recently granted a full national bank charter to OpenReserve Bank. The Bank Policy Institute supports innovation in banking but says firms should face uniform requirements and trust-chartered entities should limit themselves to trust activities.
