Ripple Receives Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank Supporting $2.5B RLUSD
Key Takeaways
- •The OCC granted final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank after issuing preliminary conditional authorization in December 2025.
- •RNTB will provide federally supervised reserve servicing, collateral-trustee, and digital-asset custody functions, while RLUSD issuance remains with the New York state-licensed Standard Custody & Trust Company.
- •RLUSD launched in December 2024 and has reached a market value of approximately $2.5 billion, backed by U.S. dollar deposits, government securities, and cash-equivalent assets with monthly third-party attestations.
- •RNTB is a limited-purpose national trust bank focused on custody, fiduciary services, and asset management rather than traditional deposit-taking and lending.
- •The approval allows Ripple to operate a federally supervised platform for institutional services as the OCC's rules implementing the GENIUS Act, finalized in October 2026, take effect in January 2027.
Ripple has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the federal regulator that charters and supervises national banks, to launch Ripple Trust Bank (RNTB), clearing a major regulatory step for the company's stablecoin and digital-asset custody operations.
The federally supervised trust bank will support selected reserve, collateral-trustee and custody functions. RLUSD issuance will remain with Ripple's existing New York state-licensed trust company, Standard Custody & Trust Company (SCTC), which operates under a license from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Final approval follows December 2025 conditional authorization
According to Ripple, the OCC granted final approval after issuing preliminary conditional approval for RNTB in December 2025. The bank's authorized activities include servicing segregated reserves for Ripple USD, acting as a collateral trustee and providing fiduciary custody for digital assets.
The original OCC authorization included provisions allowing a national trust bank to provide collateral-trustee services and cryptocurrency custody. RNTB will operate alongside SCTC rather than replace it as the issuer of RLUSD.
The arrangement gives Ripple both state and federal regulatory oversight across parts of its stablecoin infrastructure. SCTC will continue to issue RLUSD, while RNTB will provide federally supervised support for reserve and custody functions. Ripple reports that BNY remains RLUSD's primary reserve custodian.
RLUSD is backed by a combination of U.S. dollar deposits, government securities and other cash-equivalent assets. Ripple also says its reserves and circulating supply are attested to monthly by a third party.
RLUSD market value reaches approximately $2.5 billion
RLUSD launched in December 2024 and has reached a market value of approximately $2.5 billion, according to the source material. The stablecoin is integrated into Ripple's payments system and is collateralized through Ripple Prime.
With the trust bank approval, Ripple has a regulated structure through which it can pursue institutional applications involving settlement, custody and treasury services. The bank is intended to provide a federally supervised platform for supporting RLUSD and offering digital-asset custody to enterprises.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the approval showed that cryptocurrency can operate within the traditional financial system rather than separately from it. He described the company's broader strategy as developing regulated infrastructure across payments, stablecoins, custody and capital markets.
Garlinghouse also announced the approval on X ahead of Ripple's RippleSwell event:
Big news heading into @RippleSwell: the @USOCC has granted final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank. This gives Ripple a federally supervised platform to support $RLUSD and provide digital asset custody to enterprises. We've always said crypto and banks work better together — this is what that looks like. Real innovation, real accountability, federal oversight. The revolution isn't happening outside the system. It's happening from within it. — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 26, 2026
https://x.com/bgarlinghouse/status/2114860293859778775?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
National trust bank expands Ripple's regulated infrastructure
RNTB is a limited-purpose national trust bank rather than a commercial bank. Its activities are focused on custody, fiduciary services and asset management, rather than traditional deposit-taking and lending.
The OCC has increased flexibility for digital-asset companies seeking federal charters. In December 2025, Ripple was conditionally approved alongside several other applicants for crypto-focused trust banks.
The regulatory framework for payment stablecoins is also changing. In October 2026, the OCC finalized rules implementing portions of the GENIUS Act, the federal statute governing payment stablecoins. Those rules are scheduled to take effect in January 2027.
Following the final approval, Ripple can move from preparing its charter to operating a federally supervised, digital-asset-focused trust bank for institutional custody and stablecoin-related services. The source material assigns the article a user score of 8.7.
