Coinbase has secured final regulatory approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form Coinbase National Trust Company, a federally chartered trust institution. The OCC, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, charters and supervises national banks and federally chartered trust companies, placing them under a single national regulatory framework rather than a state-by-state regime. For Coinbase, the charter confers that uniform framework and allows the exchange to further its digital asset custody activities, with the approval allowing the company to grow the portion of its business that is regulated at the federal level as an institution that charges custody fees to hold customer assets.

Coinbase announced that the OCC approved the charter for Coinbase National Trust Company (CNTC) on Friday, November 6. According to the company's official announcement, the move represents a fresh page in its history as a custody provider for institutional and other customers — a business it has operated for more than 10 years, backed by over 14 years of experience holding crypto assets under custody.

The company confirmed the milestone in a post on X:

Introducing Coinbase National Trust Company, our federally chartered trust company. OCC approved. — Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) November 9, 2026

The federal charter will provide a more uniform regulatory structure for Coinbase's trust work. Where a state-chartered trust answers to a single state regulator, a national charter places an entity under ongoing federal supervision and examination — a structure the crypto industry has increasingly turned to as digital assets link up with the traditional financial sector. Operating under that umbrella, the company said it will be better equipped to supervise its custody activities. Security, compliance, and regulatory oversight sit at the heart of Coinbase's custody business, and the company noted that support from key financial institutions is aiding its rise in the global crypto custody sector.

A Federal Framework Builds on Existing State Oversight

The approval comes on the heels of Coinbase's previous regulatory ties with New York state officials. The company received a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) in 2017, and in 2018 Coinbase Custody Trust Company applied for a New York-chartered limited purpose trust company — a structure that has served as one of the most widely used state-level vehicles for digital asset custody firms.

CNTC's federal charter marks another step in this federal regulatory approach. The OCC has extended national trust charters to crypto-native firms before — in 2021, Anchorage became the first digital asset company to receive one. Coinbase noted that CNTC will run consistent, nationally standardized trust operations across Coinbase, building on its experience as a NYDFS-regulated trust, consolidating what was previously overseen state-by-state under one federal standard.

Institutional Custody Is the Initial Focus

Coinbase said the new entity will begin with its most core operation: the custody of digital assets, the fundamental service on which its institutional offering is built. The federal nod provides a more solid foundation for the company to serve institutional clients, such as financial companies that might be looking for regulated structures as they consider entering digital asset markets. For such firms, custody arrangements are the gating requirement, which is why charter structures like this one have become a focal point as conventional finance and crypto infrastructure converge.

As conventional financial entities show growing interest in digital assets, the development highlights the need for dependable custody arrangements. Institutions that require security measures, compliance protocols, and oversight from regulatory bodies must have reliable custody solutions in place before coming to market, according to Coinbase.

Coinbase also referenced its collaborations with large financial institutions such as asset manager BlackRock, stablecoin issuer Circle, asset manager Franklin Templeton, and payments company Mastercard. The company said such relationships are part of its ongoing efforts to bring crypto services into the mainstream of the financial system.

An important focus of the company's conversations with regulators, Coinbase said in its statement, has been the development of services that customers can trust. The company welcomed the OCC's decision as part of a broader initiative to set forth a transparent framework for digital asset firms operating in the United States — a signal worth watching as other digital asset businesses weigh whether to pursue federal charters of their own, and as CNTC's nationally standardized custody operations roll out across Coinbase's institutional offering.