Warren Accuses OCC of Approving Ineligible Crypto Charters

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter dated Monday that OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould approved at least nine national trust charters for cryptocurrency companies in ways that appear to conflict with the National Bank Act.

Warren asked the OCC to provide the complete applications and related communications for every firm the agency approved or conditionally approved since December 2025. The letter names Coinbase, Crypto.com, Ripple, Stripe, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Holdings and Paxos.

The letter also sought communications between the OCC and President Donald Trump, members of his family and White House officials tied to those filings. Warren requested an explanation of the legal basis for the approvals and prompt production of the records.

In the letter Warren wrote: “These companies are effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank.”

A national trust bank charter permits firms to provide fiduciary and custodial services, such as holding assets for customers, without accepting deposits or making commercial loans. Trust-chartered entities that do not take deposits often face different regulatory requirements than commercial banks.

Warren asked the OCC to delay consideration of World Liberty Financial, a company backed by members of the Trump family that filed for a charter in January. Payward, the parent company of the Kraken exchange, filed an application on May 8 to operate as the Payward National Trust Company.

Warren has sought tighter oversight of crypto-chartered entities in legislation and during recent committee activity, including provisions on market structure and conflicts tied to industry relationships with public officials.

The OCC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter or on the specific charter decisions.