America's top banking trade group is urging regulators to slow crypto's march into federally supervised finance, even as approvals move forward.
In a letter submitted Feb. 12 to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the American Bankers Association (ABA) asked the agency to delay additional crypto trust bank charter approvals until Congress finalizes stablecoin and broader digital asset rules.
The ABA is the largest U.S. banking trade group, representing banks of all sizes before Congress and federal regulators.
Its members include major institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, among thousands of regional and community banks.
Related: Ripple receives surprising news to operate as national trust bank
OCC conditionally approves five trust banks
On Dec. 12, the OCC announced it had conditionally approved five national trust bank charter applications following what it described as a rigorous review process.
Among those receiving approval were Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos.
If regulatory conditions are met, the firms will join roughly 60 national trust banks already supervised by the federal regulator.
OCC Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould said welcoming new entrants into the federal banking system promotes competition, innovation and consumer access to financial services.
Unlike traditional banks, national trust banks do not take deposits or make loans. Instead, they safeguard assets and provide custody, settlement and fiduciary services, functions that align closely with crypto infrastructure and tokenized assets.
For firms such as Ripple and Circle, trust bank status offers federal oversight and credibility without the balance sheet risks of operating a full-service consumer bank.
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The ABA, however, urged caution.
The group criticized the OCC's practice of conditioning approvals on compliance with the GENIUS Act , noting that full implementation of the law could take years and requires rulemaking from multiple federal agencies.
The banking lobby asked regulators to "be patient" and not measure charter decisions against traditional timelines, arguing that each applicant's regulatory responsibilities should be fully clarified before approvals advance.
It also flagged resolution risks, citing the collapses of FTX and Celsius in 2022 as examples of how novel business models can unravel in ways regulators may struggle to manage.
Additionally, the ABA called for restrictions on non-bank trust companies using the word "bank," arguing that such branding could mislead consumers about the nature of services offered.
TheStreet Roundtable reached out to Ripple, Circle and others for a comment and had not received a response by the time of publication.
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This story was originally published by TheStreet on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
