The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given Ripple final approval to establish Ripple National Trust Bank. The approval gives the company a federally supervised platform to support its RLUSD stablecoin and provide digital asset custody services.
The announcement comes ahead of Ripple Swell 2026 in New York, where the company is expanding its institutional financial services.
Ripple Receives Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the approval on Monday, following the regulator’s conditional approval in December 2025. The decision advances Ripple’s plans to operate a national trust bank under federal supervision.
According to Garlinghouse, the charter will enable Ripple to help RLUSD and offer digital asset custody banking services to enterprise customers. The approval is expected to pave the way for integrating cryptocurrency services with traditional banking regulations, he said.
The development puts Ripple on par with its fellow blockchain firms Circle, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets, which have been seeking federally regulated trust banking. Unlike the traditional commercial banks, National Trust banks emphasize on custody and fiduciary services instead of deposit and lending services.
National Trust Bank to support RLUSD and Institutional Custody
The new trust bank will assist Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in offering federally supervised custody and services related to reserves. Ripple had previously detailed plans to run segregated reserves and serve as collateral trustee.
The development mirrors Ripple’s partnership with Arf to provide more support for the settlement liquidity of the RLUSD on the XRP Ledger. Arf plans to extend its settlement operations to the network’s lending protocol once it becomes available.
Ripple’s banking license might help these institutional services with a regulated custodian model, without affecting the existing arrangements. The company has not yet announced the opening date of the National Trust Bank for customers.
Ripple Expands Treasury Services and XRP Ledger Adoption
The approval follows Ripple’s launch of its 24/7 corporate treasury platform on Monday. The platform integrates cash management, payment processing, and liquidity solutions for corporate clients, powered by AI.
In addition to the expansion of the treasury, Ripple launched its 24/7 Returns feature to enable eligible enterprises to receive returns on their eligible RLUSD holdings. The offering is targeting operating cash that is not deposited through normal banking hours, such as weekends and public holidays.
On the other hand, Ripple has been building partnerships with institutions to expand its presence on the XRP Ledger via tokenized financial products and digital asset services. Aviva Investors has launched a tokenized share class for its £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the network.
The trust bank will complement Ripple’s institutional business but hasn’t shared a date for when it will go live. Alongside the announcement, the XRP price has managed to recover from a clear bearish trend. At press time, the XRP price was trading at $1.30, a 1.5% surge after hitting a 24-hour low of $1.26.
