Bastion wins conditional OCC approval for U.S. trust bank charter

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Bastion wins OCC trust bank approval

Highlights

Bastion secured preliminary conditional approval from the OCC for a national trust bank charter, allowing federal supervision alongside its state licenses.
The charter enables Bastion Platforms National Trust Company to offer stablecoin custody, wallets, and payments infrastructure without accepting deposits or making loans.
Bastion raised $14.6 million in September 2025 led by Coinbase Ventures, as competition grows among Ripple, Circle, BitGo, and others for regulated digital asset banking.

Federal charter plan advances

As reported by Cointelegraph, citing Bastion in a Friday news release, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank charter. The company says the approval adds OCC supervision to the state licenses it already holds.

The proposed entity, Bastion Platforms National Trust Company, is structured differently from a traditional commercial bank. It would offer stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure and white-label issuance, while remaining unable to accept deposits or extend loans.

Nassim Eddequiouaq, Bastion's CEO, says stablecoins have shifted from an emerging technology into core financial infrastructure, increasing the need for stronger trust, governance and regulatory standards. Bastion has been pursuing federal supervision since it acquired a New York trust charter in February 2025.

Competition builds in regulated stablecoin banking

Bastion's move comes as more crypto and payments groups seek federally regulated structures for digital asset services in the U.S. Ripple has received conditional approval for a similar charter, while Circle and BitGo have received final approval.

Other applicants include Kraken parent Payward, crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash and payments company Block. Bastion also expanded its financial backing in September 2025, when Cointelegraph reported that it raised $14.6 million in a round led by Coinbase Ventures, with participation from Sony, Samsung's investment subsidiary, Andreessen Horowitz's crypto arm and Hashed.

Bitcoin’s outlook amid shifting U.S. crypto regulation was the focus of our earlier article, which noted forecasts for a near-term pullback before a potential renewed advance and highlighted key price levels to watch. We also explained how recent SEC and CFTC steps—such as temporary exemptions and targeted relief—could broaden institutional participation even without new legislation, supporting sentiment across the digital-asset sector.

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