Revolut and OpenReserve receive preliminary OCC approval to form US national banks with crypto plans
Preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has put Revolut and OpenReserve on the path to US national bank charters, with both firms planning cryptocurrency and stablecoin-related services…
Key takeaways
- Revolut and OpenReserve received preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) toward US national bank charters.
- Both firms plan to offer cryptocurrency and stablecoin-related services within the regulated national bank structure.
- The OCC approval is preliminary, so full charter approval is the next required step before either can operate as a US national bank.
- A national bank charter would place stablecoin activity under OCC oversight, including capital requirements and ongoing examination authority, rather than state money-transmission licenses.
- Revolut and OpenReserve applied separately and received their preliminary approvals independently.
Preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has put Revolut and OpenReserve on the path to US national bank charters, with both firms planning cryptocurrency and stablecoin-related services inside the regulated structure. The OCC designation is preliminary, meaning full charter approval is the next gate before either company can operate as a US national bank.
For digital asset markets, the stablecoin element is what this development puts in focus. A US national bank charter brings any stablecoin activity under OCC oversight, a different posture than the state money-transmission licenses most digital dollar issuers hold today. OCC supervision carries capital requirements and ongoing examination authority. That framework can lend credibility to a stablecoin operation, and it can also define its constraints. The two things are not separable.
Revolut and OpenReserve applied separately. The preliminary approvals were granted independently to each firm.
What to watch is the full chartering determination from the OCC, which would convert each firm from preliminary to licensed status as a US national bank.
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Filed via cointelegraph.com