Warren demands OCC turn over crypto trust charter files and Trump-linked communications
She alleges at least nine approvals exceed National Bank Act limits and asked for applications dating back to December 2025.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren escalated pressure on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency by demanding full documentation behind a wave of crypto-focused national trust charter approvals and conditional approvals. Her letter also seeks any related communications involving President Donald Trump, members of his family, or White House officials, adding a political-risk layer to an already sensitive regulatory pathway.
Key Takeaways
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould of violating banking laws by approving crypto national trust charters she argues go beyond what the National Bank Act allows.
- Warren wrote that Gould had “approved at least nine national trust charters for crypto companies” whose intended activities “appear to go far beyond the narrow set of activities permitted by law.”
- The document demand covers full charter applications since December 2025 for firms including Coinbase, Ripple, Circle, Paxos, and others.
- Warren also requested OCC communications with President Donald Trump, members of his family, and White House officials that could relate to the charter approvals. The OCC did not provide an immediate response to a comment request.
Warren Targets OCC’s Crypto Trust Charter Wave
Warren, the ranking member of the US Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould accusing him of violating banking laws by approving national trust charters for crypto companies whose planned activities she said exceed what the National Bank Act permits.
In the letter, Warren said Gould had “approved at least nine national trust charters for crypto companies that intend to engage in activities that appear to go far beyond the narrow set of activities permitted by law,” framing the approvals as a form of regulatory arbitrage. She argued the recipients are “effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank,” and warned: “Your decision to facilitate this regulatory arbitrage not only conflicts with federal law, it also poses serious risks to consumers, the safety and soundness of the banking system, and the separation of banking and commerce.”
For markets, the immediate signal is not a confirmed change in OCC policy. It is the rise in political and oversight heat around the trust-charter route that several large US-facing crypto firms are pursuing, which can translate into slower timelines and higher headline risk for custody and fiduciary business lines.
Which Firms’ Applications Warren Wants Disclosed
Warren requested the full charter applications for crypto companies the OCC approved or conditionally approved since December 2025. She named Coinbase, Crypto.com’s parent company, Ripple, Stripe, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Holdings, and Paxos.
She also asked the OCC to provide communications between the agency and President Donald Trump, members of his family, and White House officials that could be related to the charter approvals.
That communications request matters even if no new documents are produced quickly. It introduces a potential conflict-of-interest narrative that can keep the issue in the news cycle and raise the odds of follow-on oversight steps, independent of whether the underlying legal allegation is ever adjudicated.
How National Trust Charters Differ From Traditional Bank Charters
A national trust bank charter mainly allows a firm to provide fiduciary and custodial services without deposit-taking or commercial lending. Because it does not involve taking deposits or making commercial loans, the charter holder is not subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional banks.
Warren’s framing targets that gap directly. Her argument is that the charter is being used to operate like a “crypto bank” while avoiding bank-style safeguards, which is the kind of critique that can drive calls for tighter conditions, narrower permitted activities, or more aggressive supervision.
Near-Term Signals: Disclosures, Delays, and New Scrutiny for Pending Applicants
The first catalyst is procedural: whether the OCC responds to Warren’s letter or releases any portion of the requested charter applications and communications.
The second is pipeline visibility. On May 8, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, filed an OCC application for a national trust charter and said approval would allow it to “provide fiduciary custody and other services primarily for digital assets” under the Payward National Trust Company. If scrutiny rises, pending applicants seeking to expand US fiduciary custody via a national trust structure could face added questions or delays.
The third is congressional escalation. Senate Banking Committee leadership could move from letters to hearings, subpoenas, or additional document requests tied to approvals and conditional approvals since December 2025.
A separate pressure point is the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial national trust charter application filed in January. Warren has previously urged Gould to delay consideration, and any decision timing or delay could become a headline driver.
The Charter Pathway Just Picked Up Political and Process Risk
I treat this as a process-risk story more than a fundamentals story. The threshold that matters is whether the OCC can keep the national trust charter lane moving at the same pace while it is being challenged on both statutory limits and potential political influence.
If disclosures stall or oversight escalates into hearings and subpoenas, the setup starts to look structural rather than narrative-driven, with longer approval timelines and higher compliance uncertainty for US-facing custody and fiduciary offerings that depend on the trust-bank wrapper.
