Ripple national trust bank gets final US approval to hold RLUSD reserves

Ripple, the US blockchain payments company, said on Monday, October 26, 2026 that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the federal regulator for national banks, had given final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank. The approval completes a process that began with the OCC's conditional authorisation in December 2025. The new bank will oversee the reserves that back Ripple's dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, act as a trustee for token holders and offer custody of digital assets to institutions. It will not take insured deposits or make loans. Ripple has not said when the bank will begin full operations.

A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to keep a steady value, usually one US dollar, by holding reserves such as cash and short-term government bonds. Its credibility rests on whether those reserves are really there and properly protected. By placing oversight of RLUSD's reserves inside a federally supervised trust bank, Ripple is trying to give institutions, such as banks, asset managers and payment firms, more confidence to use its stablecoin.

The approval also marks a step in the long effort by crypto companies to move inside the regulated banking system rather than operate at its edge. A national trust charter lets a company hold and safeguard assets for clients under the supervision of a federal bank regulator. For start-ups and fintech firms building on blockchain networks, access to such charters lowers one of the biggest barriers to working with large financial institutions.

Not everyone welcomes the shift. Community banks have gone to court to challenge the OCC's decisions to grant crypto-linked charters, and some US lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called them illegal. Their argument is that crypto firms are getting bank-like status without meeting the full rules that apply to ordinary banks. The outcome of those challenges could affect Ripple and other crypto companies seeking similar charters.

For Indian readers, the development shows how the US is building a regulated path for stablecoins and crypto custody. Indian fintech start-ups and exporters that rely on cross-border payments have reason to follow how regulated dollar stablecoins develop, since they are designed to move money between countries quickly.

Short-term: Ripple can now complete the steps needed to open the bank. Institutions considering RLUSD will look for details on when custody services start and how reserves will be reported.

Long-term: If the model holds up in court and in practice, more crypto companies may seek federal trust charters, bringing stablecoins closer to mainstream finance. If the legal challenges succeed, the path could narrow.

Who is affected: Ripple and RLUSD users, institutional investors and banks dealing in digital assets, community banks challenging the charters, US regulators, and fintech start-ups building cross-border payment services.

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