Ramp seeks federal approval for digital asset custody services

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Ramp seeks federal approval

Highlights

Ramp seeks a federal digital asset custody charter.
Existing customer deposit arrangements stay unchanged.
OCC approval remains pending amid a legal challenge.

According to Crypto.News, Ramp submitted its application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on October 16. The proposed institution, Ramp National Trust Bank, remains subject to regulatory approval, with no confirmed launch date.

Ramp plans federally supervised custody services

The charter would allow Ramp to manage investments and hold digital assets within a federally regulated trust institution. The company has not identified which cryptocurrencies or other digital assets it would support, or whether custody services would be available beyond its existing business customers.

Ramp currently offers checking and investment products through external financial institutions. First Internet Bank of Indiana provides its checking accounts, while Ramp Advisory, Moment Advisors, and Apex Clearing support different parts of its investment offering.

Those arrangements would remain unchanged under the proposal as announced. Ramp reported more than $5 billion in customer balances across its checking and investment accounts as of October 20. The figure does not represent assets already held in cryptocurrency custody.

Crypto firms pursue national trust bank charters

Ramp joins several digital asset companies seeking federal authorization for custody and related financial services. Rain, Payward, and Zerohash have also filed applications with the OCC, while other firms have received conditional approvals.

The regulatory framework is facing opposition from the Independent Community Bankers of America, which sued the OCC on October 2. The association argues that the regulator has exceeded its authority by permitting national trust banks to conduct activities beyond traditional fiduciary services.

The OCC maintains that its rules clarify powers already available to national trust institutions, including custody and safekeeping. The lawsuit challenges the broader chartering framework rather than Ramp's individual application.

Regulatory approval will determine expansion

Ramp's application comes as the company expands beyond corporate cards and expense management into business cash management. Its founders recently reported a $60 billion valuation, 85,000 business customers, and an annualized revenue exceeding $2 billion.

Approval would give Ramp a federally supervised structure for holding digital assets, but it would not automatically authorize conventional banking activities. The company would still need to satisfy OCC requirements covering capital, governance, compliance, and operational readiness.

Earlier, we reported that Rain seeks OCC trust-bank charter for stablecoin custody and reserve operations.

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