National trust charter

Ripple has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch the Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB). This move transitions the company from a state-regulated fintech into a federally supervised banking entity. The application process began in July 2025, followed by conditional approval in December 2025. With this final sign-off, Ripple joins a small group of crypto firms, including Circle and BitGo, that have successfully brought their operations under the direct oversight of the primary regulator for U.S. national banks.

The bank is not a full-service commercial institution; it does not take deposits or issue loans. Instead, it operates under a specialized national trust charter focused on fiduciary activities. Its primary mandate is to manage the reserves for Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, and provide digital asset custody for institutional clients. This structure creates a split regulatory model where the New York-regulated unit, Standard Custody & Trust Company, continues to issue the stablecoin, while the federal bank manages the assets backing it.

Federal oversight of reserves

The launch of RNTB places the management of RLUSD reserves under the scrutiny of the OCC. Since its debut in December 2024, RLUSD has grown to a market capitalization of approximately $2.5 billion. It currently ranks among the top 50 stablecoins globally. The asset is backed by a mix of U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government securities, and other cash-like instruments. BNY currently holds the majority of these reserves.

By moving reserve management to a national trust bank, Ripple is attempting to satisfy the requirements of large-scale institutions that demand federal-level accountability. The bank will act as a trustee, meaning it has a legal obligation to manage the collateral specifically for the benefit of RLUSD holders. This setup is intended to provide a layer of protection that mirrors traditional financial trust structures. This oversight arrives as the U.S. prepares to implement new stablecoin regulations under the GENIUS Act, which Ripple has indicated it will follow in coordination with the OCC and New York regulators.

Institutional custody and payments

Beyond stablecoin reserves, the new bank is authorized to provide fiduciary custody services. This allows the bank to hold digital assets for large corporations and financial institutions engaged in trading, treasury management, and payments. Ripple’s existing business model relies heavily on its payments infrastructure and Ripple Prime, where RLUSD is used as collateral. The company also continues to use $XRP, the fifth-largest digital asset by market cap, to facilitate cross-border transactions.

The goal of the national charter is to bridge the gap between blockchain-native assets and the traditional financial system. For years, the argument from leadership has been that for crypto to scale, it must reside within a regulated framework that banks can trust. The RNTB provides that framework by offering a federally regulated entry point for institutions that were previously hesitant to interact with state-chartered or unregulated entities.

Tokenization on the XRP Ledger

While Ripple secures its banking infrastructure in the U.S., its technology is being applied to traditional fund management in the UK. Aviva Investors recently launched a tokenized share class of its £22 billion ($29.4 billion) Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger. This follows a similar launch of a U.S. dollar liquidity fund share class in July. Aviva has invested £50 million ($66.7 million) into this new sterling offering, bringing its total investment across tokenized money market funds to over £86 million ($114.8 million).

The fund uses a digital twin model. The actual fund operations remain offchain, but investors' holdings are represented on the XRP Ledger. This project involves several traditional and crypto-native partners, with BNY holding the fund’s assets and Komainu and Licuido providing infrastructure support. The tokenized shares maintain the same risk profile and regulatory protections as the traditional fund, which has been active since 2002. This integration shows how the underlying ledger is being used for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization alongside the development of Ripple’s new banking entity.

Political and regulatory friction

The expansion of national trust charters to crypto firms has not been without pushback. Some lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have criticized the OCC for granting these approvals, suggesting they might violate the National Bank Act. Critics argue that allowing crypto firms into the federal banking system poses risks to financial stability. Conversely, industry groups like The Digital Chamber have defended the move, noting that these charters are limited in scope and that firms are voluntarily choosing to submit to stricter federal supervision rather than avoiding it.

In other regions, the intersection of crypto and state policy is even more contentious. In Israel, the central bank recently rejected a suggestion by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use blockchain networks to bypass potential international sanctions. The Bank of Israel stated that digital currencies cannot be used to circumvent sanctions because public blockchains are transparent and traceable. This highlights the ongoing tension between the perceived anonymity of crypto and the reality of public ledger forensics, which Israel itself has used to seize 24 million shekels from sanctioned wallets.

Sources

1. CoinDesk, Ripple gets a final go-ahead to launch its own U.S. national trust bank, https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/27/ripple-gets-a-final-go-ahead-to-launch-its-own-u-s-national-trust-bank

2. The Block, Ripple gains final OCC approval to launch national trust bank and bring RLUSD under federal oversight, https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-10-26-ripple-gains-final-occ-approval-rlusd-431810

3. The Block, Aviva Investors, Ripple launch tokenized share class of $29 billion sterling fund on XRP Ledger, https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-10-26-aviva-investors-ripple-tokenized-share-class-sterling-fund-xrp-ledger-431712

4. Decrypt, Israel's central bank rebukes Netanyahu plan to use crypto to dodge sanctions, https://decrypt.co/381789/israels-central-bank-rebukes-netanyahu-plan-to-use-crypto-to-dodge-sanctions

Does having a federal bank charter make you more likely to trust a stablecoin over one that is only state-regulated?

Charts and the full source list: https://medium.com/@tomasrada8080/ripples-federal-leap-the-launch-of-a-u-s-national-trust-bank-3b022eef1674