Ripple wins final OCC approval for national trust bank RNTB

Ripple has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB), CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on X late Monday. The decision lets the crypto company run a specialized bank under U.S. federal supervision.

Ripple first applied for the charter in July 2025, and the OCC granted conditional approval that December. This week's sign-off completes the process.

What the bank will do

RNTB will manage the reserves that back Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and act as trustee for them. It will also provide regulated custody services, holding digital assets safely for large companies that use crypto in payments, trading and treasury management.

RLUSD itself will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, Ripple's New York-regulated unit. The result is an extra layer of oversight: parts of the stablecoin's setup are now watched by both state and federal regulators.

RLUSD's scale

RLUSD launched in December 2024 and has grown to a market value of about $2.5 billion, placing it among the world's 50 largest stablecoins. It is used in Ripple's payments business and as collateral on Ripple Prime. The token is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government securities and other cash-like assets, with BNY holding most of the reserves. Ripple also uses XRP, the fifth-largest digital asset, to facilitate cross-border transactions.

Why it matters

The approval gives one of crypto's biggest names a traditional banking-style license and signals that digital assets are being drawn further into the regulated financial system. It fits Garlinghouse's long-running argument that crypto firms should build products banks and large institutions can actually use.

Ripple said it will keep working with the OCC, New York regulators and others as the bank begins operating, particularly as the U.S. rolls out new stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act.