Key facts
- The OCC approved Coinbase National Trust Company's application on November 6, Coinbase said, completing a process begun with an October 2025 filing.
- The trust bank may hold client assets as a fiduciary but cannot take retail deposits, make loans or issue stablecoins.
- Coinbase must hold at least $60 million in Tier 1 capital and cover 180 days of operating expenses for its first three years.
- Staking, prime trading and financing stay with Coinbase affiliates; the trust bank acts as an intermediary for them.
- Coinbase plans to shift custody from its New York limited-purpose trust to the national entity over three years.
- Coinbase said it did not disclose any financial impact from the charter.
Coinbase said on November 9, 2026, that it had won a full national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, upgrading the conditional approval it received in April and placing its institutional custody business under direct federal supervision. The company said in a blog post that the OCC approved the application for Coinbase National Trust Company on Friday, November 6, and OCC licensing records as reported show the chartering process was completed that day.
Coinbase applied in October 2025 and received preliminary approval on April 2. In the months between, it had to finish organizational and operational preparations before the OCC would let the trust bank open. "This charter allows us to bring clear and consistent federal uniformity to our industry-leading custody capabilities," Coinbase wrote, adding that it strengthens the regulatory framework under which it serves customers. The company said it has served as a custodian for more than 14 years.
A national trust bank can hold assets for clients as a fiduciary, and Coinbase's focus is custody for institutional customers. It is not a commercial bank: it cannot take ordinary retail deposits or make loans, and the charter does not authorize it to issue stablecoins. Staking, prime trading and financing will keep running through Coinbase affiliates rather than the trust itself; under the OCC's April decision the trust bank acts as an intermediary for those services and does not perform them directly.