Digital Chamber challenges Warren’s claims on OCC crypto charters

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Digital Chamber vs OCC crypto charters

Highlights

The Digital Chamber disputes Senator Warren's claims, stating crypto firms like Coinbase and Ripple voluntarily applied for OCC supervision and accepted compliance requirements.
Senator Warren alleges the OCC may have violated the National Bank Act by conditionally approving charters for nine digital asset firms beyond legally permitted banking activities.
With 14 digital asset companies currently seeking OCC charters, pending decisions—including those for Payward and World Liberty Financial—highlight ongoing regulatory uncertainty and oversight concerns in the crypto sector.

Letter targets OCC charter approvals

According to Cointelegraph, the Digital Chamber says in a Tuesday letter to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould that Senator Elizabeth Warren misstates how banking rules apply to crypto firms seeking national trust bank charters.

Chief Executive Cody Carbone argues the companies named by Warren are not trying to avoid regulation, saying they voluntarily applied for federal supervision, accepted OCC examination authority and agreed to the compliance obligations tied to those charters.

Warren wrote on May 18 that the OCC may have violated the National Bank Act by approving or conditionally approving charters for nine crypto companies whose planned activities, in her view, go beyond the narrow scope allowed by law. Her concerns cover Coinbase, Crypto.com parent company Foris DAX, Ripple, Stripe, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Holdings and Paxos.

As the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Warren also questions what drove those approvals and suggests possible White House influence. Cointelegraph sought comment from Warren’s office but does not receive an immediate response.

Pending applications keep pressure on regulator

Warren’s criticism comes as the OCC continues reviewing additional applications from digital asset firms, including Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial and Payward, the parent company of Kraken.

Payward says it intends to provide fiduciary custody and other services primarily for digital assets if its application is approved. In January, Warren urged Gould to delay consideration of World Liberty’s application until President Donald Trump divested from the platform, citing financial conflicts of interest.

As of Tuesday, the OCC lists 14 digital asset companies that have submitted licensing applications. The pipeline shows that charter policy remains a material issue for the crypto sector, with implications for federal oversight, custody services and the boundary between banking and digital asset activities.

Our earlier coverage on Coinbase (COIN) examined how the company’s shares were pressured as it rolled out an AI-focused restructuring expected to generate up to $60 million in charges, while it continued expanding stablecoin products and payment infrastructure. We also noted that shifting federal rules around stablecoins were adding uncertainty to Coinbase’s long-term business model, even as technical indicators pointed to continued downside risk in the near term.

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