OCC gives conditional approval for a new national trust bank built around stablecoins

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval to Agora National Trust Bank on September 18, 2026, clearing the way for a national trust bank charter built specifically around stablecoin issuance and digital asset custody. The approval, issued under Corporate Decision #1393, permits the proposed institution to issue and maintain reserves for dollar-backed stablecoins, provide non-fiduciary custody for digital assets, offer related transaction and settlement services, and, in a more limited capacity, provide fiduciary investment advisory services to institutional custody clients.

The approval is conditional and preliminary rather than a green light to open for business. Agora still has to satisfy a set of pre-opening requirements before the OCC will grant final authorization, including raising at least $10 million in Tier 1 capital. National trust bank charters of this kind typically also carry ongoing conditions around capital adequacy, liquidity and risk management that the OCC monitors after a bank opens, on top of whatever specific requirements attach to this particular approval.

The filing is part of a broader pattern of companies seeking federally chartered trust bank status specifically to support stablecoin operations, a trend that has accelerated since Congress passed the GENIUS Act establishing a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. A national trust charter offers a stablecoin issuer a single federal regulator and a uniform legal basis for operating across all states, an alternative to assembling money transmitter licenses state by state — the same rationale that has driven other digital-asset firms toward similar charter applications in recent years.

Because the approval remains preliminary, the practical effect for now is limited to clearing a regulatory hurdle rather than putting a new stablecoin issuer into the market. Whether Agora meets its capital and other conditions, and on what timeline, will determine when — or whether — the bank actually begins operating under the charter.