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Sen. Elizabeth Warren Joins Banks in Opposing OCC (U.S. national bank regulator) Trust Charters for Ripple and Crypto Firms

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Joins Banks in Opposing OCC (U.S. national bank regulator) Trust Charters for Ripple and Crypto Firms

According to Digital Chamber, Warren misread the law in criticizing OCC trust charters for nine crypto firms, while banks and Warren argue such structures could enable bank-like crypto activity without standard obligations.

Fact Check
Crypto Briefing's article directly confirms the claim's attribution and substance: Digital Chamber defended OCC charter approvals for Coinbase and Ripple via a May 26, 2026 letter to Comptroller Gould, in response to Sen. Warren's challenges to the charters' legality under federal banking law. The Block, crypto.news, and Decrypt independently corroborate all key elements (Digital Chamber, OCC charters for Coinbase/Ripple, Warren's challenge under the National Bank Act).
Summary

Digital Chamber disclosed that it sent a May 27 letter to OCC head Jonathan Gould rejecting Senator Elizabeth Warren’s criticism of national trust charter approvals for nine crypto firms, arguing that her objections reflected a misreading of the law and that the OCC has authority to grant such charters. The firms identified in the dispute include Coinbase, Ripple, Circle and Paxos. Newer reporting adds that Ripple received conditional OCC approval in December 2025 to charter Ripple National Trust Bank and is pursuing a federally regulated trust bank structure as the OCC’s April 2026 rule expanding permitted national trust bank activities took effect. Warren has since joined banks in opposing Ripple and other crypto firms’ pursuit of OCC trust charters, arguing they could engage in bank-like crypto activity without the obligations imposed on traditional banks.

Terms & Concepts
  • OCC: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the U.S. regulator that supervises and charters national banks and certain federally chartered trust institutions.
  • national trust charters: Federal charters issued by the OCC that allow qualified trust institutions to operate under national oversight, typically focused on fiduciary, custody, and related services rather than traditional deposit-taking and lending.
  • Custody: Safekeeping of client assets, including digital assets, by a regulated institution on behalf of customers.