Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing the OCC over nine national trust charters granted to crypto firms, arguing the approvals may exceed what the National Bank Act permits.

In a detailed letter, she demands full charter applications and supporting materials for the firms approved since December 2025, including Coinbase, Ripple’s Circle, Crypto.com, Paxos, and others, and seeks communications with Trump family and White House officials.

The nine firms identified as holding national trust charters are Ripple National Trust Bank, Paxos Trust Company, First National Digital Currency Bank (Circle), Fidelity Digital Asset Services, Bitgo Bank and Trust N.A., Foris DAX National Trust Bank (Crypto.com affiliate), National Digital Trust Company (Protego), Bridge National Trust Bank (Stripe-related), and Coinbase National Trust Company.

The episode reflects a broader Trump-era push to integrate crypto into regulated banking, with Warren warning about risks like market volatility, consumer fraud, and past crypto collapses.

The coverage situates crypto firms seeking federal banking structures as part of ongoing debates over consumer protection and financial stability, noting market reactions to crypto players like Coinbase.

Tech outlet Comment request: Cointelegraph sought OCC comment but received no immediate response.

A national trust charter allows fiduciary and custodial services without deposit-taking or lending, generally sidestepping traditional bank regulatory requirements.

Warren notes these charters do not permit FDIC-insured deposits or standard lending, though they could support stablecoin activities under the GENIUS Act framework passed last year.

The American Bankers Association had urged the OCC to curb crypto firm charters amid unresolved risks in receivership and a lack of finalized federal oversight.

The broader regulatory shift includes the GENIUS Act establishing a stablecoin framework and OCC clarifications expanding non-fiduciary activities for national trusts, drawing pushback from industry groups like the ICBA.

Warren warned that letting these firms operate as full-service national banks without standard safeguards could endanger consumers and banking system safety, noting World Liberty Financial as a Trump-family-linked charter candidate.

Her letter requests full charter applications, confidential exhibits, legal analyses, and details on fiduciary versus non-fiduciary activity, plus how the GENIUS Act interacts with the National Bank Act.