Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould in May 2026 challenging the OCC's practice of granting national trust company charters to crypto businesses. Warren contends that the OCC approved at least nine such charters for entities whose business plans do not include fiduciary trust activities, the statutory prerequisite for a national trust company charter under the National Bank Act.
Warren's challenge rests on 12 U.S.C. § 92a, which authorises national banks to exercise fiduciary powers, and 12 C.F.R. Part 9, which defines permissible fiduciary activities. She argues that charter holders engaging primarily in stablecoin custody, payment facilitation, and lending do not satisfy the fiduciary activity requirement. Warren also invokes the banking and commerce separation doctrine, arguing that approval allows non-fiduciary entities to access the national bank charter and federal preemption benefits while avoiding deposit insurance, capital, and consumer protection rules applicable to full-service national banks.
Crypto businesses holding OCC national trust charters face potential regulatory reversal if the OCC responds to congressional pressure or if the matter advances to administrative or judicial review. The nine identified charter holders conduct stablecoin custody and payment activities that are not traditional fiduciary operations. A successful challenge could require those businesses to migrate to state money transmitter licenses, state trust company licenses, or full national bank charters under the GENIUS Act program.
The OCC has not publicly responded to Warren's letter as of the date of this post. A letter from a single ranking minority member does not compel OCC administrative action. Formal rescission of existing charters would require an OCC proceeding or legislative intervention. The controversy may sharpen congressional scrutiny of the OCC's digital asset licensing approach ahead of the agency's GENIUS Act implementing rulemaking.
Licentium advises digital asset companies on U.S. federal and state licensing strategy, including OCC charter options and fallback licensing structures. We monitor developments in the OCC's digital asset licensing posture through our U.S. regulatory partner network. Work we undertake includes OCC charter advisory, digital asset licensing strategy, U.S. federal and state regulatory mapping, and crypto compliance program development.