Catenaa, Tuesday, February 24, 2026- Crypto.com has secured conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to pursue a federally chartered national bank license, the company said early today.
The decision allows the exchange to move toward operating under a federal regulatory framework in the US.
The conditional approval permits Crypto.com to seek authority to offer digital asset custody and staking services under national supervision.
A national trust bank charter would place the firm under federal oversight rather than state regulators and authorize it to safeguard client assets.
The company said the step advances its effort to serve institutional clients seeking regulated custody solutions. Federal supervision is viewed by many firms as a path to greater operational clarity and broader market access.
Crypto.com joins several digital asset firms that have received similar conditional approvals. Those include Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos.
Over the past year, the OCC has clarified that US banks may buy and sell crypto assets on behalf of customers and has withdrawn earlier guidance seen as restrictive. The regulator said those changes were intended to reduce burdens on banks engaging in crypto-related activities.
The approval does not grant a full charter but marks another step in the digital asset sector’s push toward federal banking status.
