Coinbase has received final approval to charter Coinbase National Trust Company, the company announced on November 9. The move puts the new company’s trust activities under US federal regulatory oversight.
The OCC’s public filing record lists November 6, 2026 as the charter’s effective date. Coinbase says the approval will support the expansion of its digital-asset custody business.
Coinbase National Trust Company and retail banking limits
The news concerns custody and trust services. In its April explanation of the charter, Coinbase said it was not becoming a commercial bank.
Specifically, the company said it would not take retail deposits or engage in fractional-reserve banking. It described the charter as a framework for safeguarding assets and its custody and market-infrastructure business.
For readers, that separates this announcement from the launch of a conventional deposit-taking bank. The November statement focuses on federally regulated custody, rather than introducing a retail savings or checking account.
How the approval reached this point
The OCC record shows it received the application on October 3, 2025. It lists an approval on April 2, 2026, followed by the November 6 effective date.
Coinbase’s April announcement called that earlier decision conditional approval. Its November announcement now describes final approval and the launch of the national trust company.
The company also points to its existing history with New York’s financial regulator. Coinbase received its BitLicense in 2017, while Coinbase Custody Trust Company secured a New York limited-purpose trust charter in 2018.
In April, Coinbase said its BitLicense and state trust charter would remain in place. It also said Coinbase, Inc. would continue under New York Department of Financial Services oversight.
In April, Coinbase also said the federal framework could support new products, including payments and related services. Coinbase is already among the companies in Open Standard’s Open USD stablecoin project, announced in June. However, the November charter announcement does not mention that project and centers on expanding custody.
The November announcement does not provide new service fees or a timetable for additional payment products.
