ICBA Sues OCC Over Crypto Trust Bank Charters in DC Federal Court

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the agency overstepped congressional authority by granting limited national trust bank charters to cryptocurrency companies. Filed Friday, the suit argues that the OCC's approvals let crypto firms gain the credibility of a federal bank charter without meeting the obligations applied to traditional insured depository institutions.

ICBA president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said the national trust charter was never intended as a "side door into the banking system for crypto firms seeking the credibility of a federal bank charter without the Community Reinvestment Act obligations, consolidated supervision, capital and liquidity standards, and FDIC insurance that apply to insured depository institutions." The group is asking the court to return the OCC to its statutory limits and halt the chartering path currently open to digital asset companies.

Under President Donald Trump and OCC head Jonathan Gould, the agency has approved or conditionally approved multiple trust charter applications from crypto firms seeking to expand US operations, according to Cointelegraph reporting from August. These charters do not permit companies to accept deposits or make loans, setting them apart from conventional commercial banks. The OCC did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

The case marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tension between traditional community banks and the crypto industry's push into regulated financial infrastructure. With the outcome, courts could reshape how digital asset companies access federal banking frameworks and whether supervisory safeguards keep pace with new entrants into the financial system.