The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), a trade group representing community banks, has filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), contesting the regulator's authority to grant national trust bank charters to cryptocurrency companies. The complaint was filed Friday in federal court in Washington, adding a new legal challenge to the expanding role of digital-asset firms in the U.S. banking system.

According to the ICBA, the OCC exceeded its statutory authority when it created a regulatory pathway allowing crypto companies to obtain national trust charters. The trade group is asking the court to overturn the OCC's March 2026 rule and the related guidance issued alongside it.

The dispute centers on crypto firms entering banking

National trust banks can provide services such as digital-asset custody and payment-related activities without operating like conventional deposit-taking banks. They generally do not accept deposits or make traditional loans. For digital-asset firms, such a charter offers a federally chartered way to offer custody and payment-related services without building a deposit-taking institution.

The ICBA contends that this structure gives crypto companies the credibility of a federal bank charter without imposing the requirements faced by community banks. Those requirements can include capital and liquidity standards, consolidated supervision, Community Reinvestment Act obligations, and federal deposit insurance for insured banks.

Citing Reuters, the group also argues that consumers could mistakenly associate a national trust charter with the protections typically linked to federally insured banks. The ICBA has asked the court to invalidate the OCC's rule and guidance.

The legal fight could shape crypto banking access

The lawsuit arrives as cryptocurrency companies pursue greater access to traditional financial infrastructure. Coinbase and other digital-asset firms have sought national trust charters as regulators establish a broader framework for crypto-related banking services. The court's handling of the statutory question could determine whether that chartering pathway remains available to crypto applicants.

The ICBA is also challenging the conditional charter approval granted to Protego Holdings Corp. The group has raised concerns about the company's governance and risk controls, arguing that crypto-focused trust banks should face stronger regulatory requirements. That challenge could test how the OCC applies conditions when chartering crypto-focused institutions.

For its part, the OCC has defended its chartering framework as an exercise of its existing authority. The agency declined to comment on the litigation, according to Reuters.

The case now places the OCC's interpretation of national trust bank before a federal court. Its outcome could affect how cryptocurrency companies structure custody, payments, and other financial services in the United States.