Bridge, the stablecoin platform owned by payments firm Stripe, was awarded a conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to organize a federally chartered national trust bank.

The move would place Bridge under direct federal oversight for its stablecoin and digital asset services at a time when US policymakers still debate how to regulate digital dollars.

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Once fully approved, the charter will allow Bridge to offer businesses custody of digital assets, issue and manage stablecoins, and oversee the reserves backing those tokens.

What the OCC Charter Would Allow Bridge to Do

The company presents fully reserved and transparently managed stablecoins as infrastructure for faster global settlement, treasury operations, cross-border payments and tokenized asset markets.

Bridge says its compliance framework already aligns with the federal GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law signed in July 2025. It argues that a national trust bank charter will give customers a clearer regulatory structure and support large-scale use of stablecoins within the US financial system.

The single federal charter would also let Bridge operate nationwide without relying on multiple state-level licenses. Bridge is part of a broader group of digital asset firms seeking similar treatment from the OCC.

Continue reading: Stripe Strikes Biggest Ever Crypto Deal: TechCrunch Founder Confirms Bridge Acquisition

In December, the regulator conditionally approved BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos to convert their state trust companies into national trusts, and granted preliminary national trust bank charters to Circle and Ripple.

A Growing List of OCC-Approved Crypto Trusts

OCC records show that Bridge applied for its charter in October and received conditional approval on 12 February. Stripe acquired Bridge in 2025 in a deal worth about 1.1 billion dollars to help support stablecoin -based payments across its network. The expansion of crypto-focused national trust banks has drawn resistance from parts of the traditional banking sector.

In a recent letter, the American Bankers Association urged the OCC to slow approvals for such charters, warning that companies could use them to avoid stricter oversight while rules under the GENIUS Act remain unsettled. The decision on Bridge comes as US lawmakers in the Senate advance broader digital asset market structure legislation.