WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2026: A major US community banking group has filed a lawsuit against a federal banking regulator, challenging rules that allow cryptocurrency companies to obtain national trust bank charters.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) filed the case in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The group argues that the regulator has gone beyond the authority granted to it by Congress by allowing crypto-focused companies to operate under national trust charters.
The legal challenge focuses in part on an OCC rule that took effect on April 1, 2026. The rule clarified the agency’s position that national banks limited to trust-company operations may conduct certain non-fiduciary activities alongside fiduciary activities. The OCC says the change does not expand or reduce its existing chartering authority.
ICBA disputes that interpretation and is seeking to have the rule and related guidance overturned. The organization says crypto companies should not be able to gain the credibility associated with a federal bank charter without facing regulatory requirements comparable to those imposed on traditional insured banks.
ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said consumers may associate a federal bank charter with protections that are not necessarily available when digital assets are held by a crypto company operating under a national trust charter. The organization argues that firms carrying out non-fiduciary activities should face standards comparable to those governing community banks.
The dispute comes as the OCC continues to process and approve applications involving companies active in digital assets. Its published records show national trust bank charter decisions involving companies such as Coinbase National Trust Company and Laser Digital National Trust Bank in 2026, while additional digital-asset licensing applications remain under consideration.
National trust bank charters can allow approved companies to perform activities such as custody and safekeeping of customer assets. However, these limited-purpose institutions differ from conventional commercial banks and generally do not operate as traditional deposit-taking and lending institutions.
The OCC maintains that its authority in this area is longstanding. In its February final rule, the regulator said Congress expressly recognized its authority to charter national banks whose operations are limited to those of a trust company and related activities. The agency also said its historical practice includes chartering national trust banks that conduct activities beyond strictly fiduciary functions.
ICBA, however, contends that the regulator’s approach creates an uneven framework between crypto-focused trust companies and traditional community banks, which are subject to broader capital, liquidity, supervision and deposit-insurance requirements.
The lawsuit now puts the scope of the OCC’s chartering authority before a federal court, with the outcome potentially affecting how cryptocurrency and fintech companies gain access to the US federal banking system.
