The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's final rule on national trust bank activities officially takes effect today, marking a pivotal moment for crypto firms seeking to operate within the U.S. banking system.

What Changed

The rule, announced via OCC Bulletin 2026-4 and finalized on February 27, makes a deceptively simple but significant language change. It replaces the narrow term "fiduciary activities" with the broader "operations of a trust company and activities related thereto." This allows national trust banks to engage in non-fiduciary activities - including custody and safekeeping of digital assets - alongside traditional trust services.

Who Benefits

Five crypto firms already hold conditional OCC trust bank charter approvals: Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and First National Digital Currency Bank. Under the new rule, these firms can expand their operations beyond strictly fiduciary roles into custody, safekeeping, and other banking activities.

Morgan Stanley also quietly filed for an OCC Trust Charter in February, signaling that traditional finance giants see value in the new framework.

Pushback from Wall Street

Not everyone is celebrating. The Bank Policy Institute, which represents major banks including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, has raised concerns about an uneven playing field. The group is reportedly considering legal action against the OCC, arguing the regulator is improperly expanding powers for crypto-focused entities.

Meanwhile, Ripple has applied for a Fed Master account, which would grant access to the Federal Reserve's payment rails - following Kraken's earlier approval. The convergence of crypto and traditional banking infrastructure continues to accelerate.