Coinbase’s federal trust charter takes effect, clearing final OCC hurdle

Coinbase’s national trust charter became effective on Nov. 6, giving the exchange’s new subsidiary final approval to operate under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The regulator’s [case record](https://apps.occ.gov/CAS/home/details?FilingID=3RAoRRek6o4j&FilingSubtypeID=1093&FilingTypeID=2) lists Coinbase National Trust Company as “consummated/effective” on that date, after preliminary conditional approval in April.

Coinbase announced the final approval on Nov. 9, saying it would expand the company’s custody business within a federal regulatory framework. A trust charter gives the company a national framework for specified trust services; it does not turn Coinbase into a full-service retail bank.

What can the new trust company do?

The OCC’s April decision describes a business centered on holding digital assets for customers in a fiduciary capacity, meaning the company must act in the customers’ interests when carrying out that role. The planned clients are primarily institutions, and related transactions are limited to assets held in custody accounts.

Those accounts may include fiat currency, or government-issued money such as dollars, alongside digital assets. The OCC decision says cash held in custody will sit in “for benefit of” accounts at third-party banks. Coinbase’s [announcement](https://www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbase-launches-national-trust-company-with-federally-regulated-institutional-grade-custody-offering) presents the charter as a way to expand its custody offering under federal oversight.

The charter does not authorize the trust company to offer ordinary checking and savings accounts or make consumer loans. For customers, the immediate change is regulatory: institutional custody services will be provided through a federally chartered entity, rather than through Coinbase’s existing New York limited-purpose trust company.

What changes for Coinbase’s custody clients?

Coinbase plans to move its custody business from Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC, which is chartered by New York’s Department of Financial Services, to the new national trust company over a three-year period. That transition is not an overnight switch. The OCC’s April decision says the new bank may provide custody customers with access to services such as staking, prime trading and prime financing through Coinbase affiliates, but the trust company itself will not provide those underlying services.

Coinbase has not announced a customer fee change or a date for moving individual accounts. The practical effect will depend on how the company transfers custody relationships and what services it makes available through the federally chartered entity. Existing clients should look for direct terms and timing from Coinbase before assuming their accounts or prices have changed.

What should readers watch next?

The key signal is how Coinbase carries out the three-year migration and when it starts moving clients from the New York trust company. The OCC case record confirms the charter is effective, while Coinbase’s public announcement describes the broader custody expansion without setting out a customer-by-customer timetable.

Coinbase’s next updates should clarify the rollout, the custody services available through the new company and any changes clients need to make. Until then, the charter marks a change in federal oversight and structure, not a disclosed change to customer fees or account access.