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Coinbase trust bank charter takes effect under OCC supervision

Coinbase’s national trust charter took effect Nov. 6, moving its planned custody bank beyond conditional approval and into the OCC’s federal trust-bank framework.

Uruguay Can Editorial

Coinbase trust bank charter takes effect under OCC supervision

Coinbase’s national trust charter took effect Nov. 6, moving the exchange beyond conditional approval into a federal trust-bank framework. The OCC’s application record lists Coinbase National Trust Company’s charter as effective that day; CoinDesk reported that Coinbase announced the full charter on Nov. 9.

What can Coinbase’s national trust bank do?

It is authorized for trust-company operations, including fiduciary activities, rather than general retail banking. In its April 2 conditional approval, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said the bank would provide digital-asset custody primarily to institutional clients and related transaction services for assets held in custody. The OCC’s charter decision describes those services as custody in a fiduciary capacity, which means the bank holds assets subject to duties to its clients.

Does the charter make Coinbase a full-service bank?

No. The OCC’s approval limits the bank to trust-company operations and related activities, and its decision says it will not be an insured depository institution. CoinDesk reported that the charter does not let Coinbase take deposits or make loans. For you as a customer, the change is federal OCC oversight of this planned custody bank; the charter does not turn Coinbase into a conventional bank offering checking or savings accounts.

What happens to Coinbase’s existing custody business?

The OCC’s April decision says Coinbase planned to move its custody business from Coinbase Custody Trust Company, a New York State-chartered limited-purpose trust company, to the national trust bank over a three-year period. That was a plan in the application; the OCC’s record confirms the new charter is effective, but it does not say that the migration is complete. Coinbase’s new status therefore marks a regulatory step for its custody operations, while the transfer of that business remains the next stage.

Sources