Short Description: Bridge, owned by Stripe, gains a key OCC conditional charter approval to operate as a federally chartered national trust bank for stablecoins.
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In a significant regulatory milestone for the digital asset industry, stablecoin platform Bridge, a subsidiary of payments giant Stripe, has received conditional approval to organize as a federally chartered national trust bank from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). This pivotal decision, announced on February 12th, positions Bridge to operate its stablecoin products and services under direct federal oversight. Following the landmark passage of the GENIUS Act, this OCC approval empowers Bridge to legally offer core services like digital asset custody, stablecoin issuance, and reserve management. The company highlighted that its compliance framework is already “GENIUS ready,” asserting that the national trust bank charter provides customers with the robust regulatory backbone needed to adopt and build with stablecoins confidently and at scale.
Bridge is now among a growing cohort of crypto-focused firms—including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets—securing conditional national trust bank charters from the OCC. This trend follows the enactment of the GENIUS Act in July 2025, which established a new federal framework for payment stablecoins. However, this rapid regulatory progress faces pushback from traditional financial institutions. The American Bankers Association (ABA) recently urged the OCC to slow its approval process, arguing that the rules under the GENIUS Act remain unclear and that such charters could allow companies to bypass essential oversight from other U.S. financial regulators.
The broader landscape for digital asset regulation in the U.S. remains fluid. While the Senate advances comprehensive market structure legislation, a key unresolved issue is the treatment of stablecoin yield. White House officials continue to engage with industry leaders from both crypto and traditional banking to address this and other sticking points, such as tokenized equities and conflicts of interest. These debates will be crucial in shaping the final regulatory environment as federal oversight of stablecoins and digital asset banking continues to evolve.
Short Summary: Stripe-owned Bridge’s conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter marks a major step in legitimizing stablecoins under federal oversight, aligning with the GENIUS Act. This move, part of a broader trend for crypto firms, advances regulatory clarity but faces scrutiny from traditional bankers concerned about oversight gaps. The path forward hinges on ongoing legislative efforts to fully define the U.S. stablecoin and digital asset market structure.
