OpenReserve wins conditional bank approval with $210 million, 12% capital hurdles

OpenReserve received preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. national bank regulator, to charter OpenReserve Bank, National Association on September 2, 2026. The proposed full-service insured national bank would be headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and operate without branches at launch. The approval authorizes the charter in principle but does not permit operations or deposit-taking. Before opening, OpenReserve must meet OCC preopening requirements, raise at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital after organizational and preopening expenses, secure Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) deposit insurance, and apply for Federal Reserve Bank stock. The bank must also maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio (core capital compared with total assets) of at least 12.0% throughout its first three years. The capital requirement is about nine times the $25 million seed round led by a16z crypto. The OCC approval expires if the capital is not raised within 12 months or the bank does not open within 18 months of September 2, 2026. OpenReserve plans a wholly owned stablecoin subsidiary, but the OCC said no application for that subsidiary had been filed. Any stablecoin operations would need to comply with the GENIUS Act and its forthcoming implementing rules. The company says the bank will combine traditional banking with onchain settlement and offer lending, treasury management, tokenized deposits and stablecoin infrastructure. Chief executive Dee Choubey said OpenReserve deliberately chose the national bank route, while a16z crypto partner Guy Wuollet described the need for banking infrastructure that operates continuously. The approval’s capital-first structure points to a compliance-focused approach to blockchain-native banking, although it does not establish a confirmed outcome for OpenReserve’s business model. As of September 4, 2026, USDC traded at $0.9999 with a market capitalization near $74.2 billion, while the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 74, in Greed territory.