Ripple submits application for US national bank charter.

2025-08-12

crypto company Ripple announced its intention to seek a national bank charter in the United States. This move underscores Ripple’s broader strategy towards gaining regulatory clarity and integrating more deeply into the traditional financial system.

Obtaining this charter would allow Ripple to streamline payment settlements, reduce costs by bypassing intermediary banks, and gain greater legitimacy following what cryptocurrency firms contend has been a period of regulatory exclusion.

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, made the announcement in an X post on July 2, 2025. This follows a similar move by another company operating in this sector, Circle, which also applied for a national trust charter after its U.S. IPO.

Ripple’s application must be approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. banking regulator. Reuters reported that an OCC official confirmed receipt of Ripple’s charter application. Additionally, Ripple is requesting a Fed Master account to access the Federal Reserve’s payments infrastructure and hold its stablecoin reserves directly with the central bank.

Stablecoins have grown significantly since the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, which could greatly benefit the crypto industry by providing clearer regulatory paths for scaling use.

Recent Developments

In June 2025, Alchemy Pay integrated Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, expanding access to asset purchases in over 173 countries through more than 300 local payment methods. Standard Custody, a limited-purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), managed the issuance of RLUSD. The stablecoin was pegged at 1:1 with USD and was redeemable for fiat currency.

Shortly before this, Ripple extended its payments network in the United Arab Emirates through collaborations with Zand and Mamo. These efforts were followed by Ripple’s receipt of a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), allowing it to offer digital asset services within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).