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Simon Taylor
Simon Taylor
Feb 18, 19:13·
Bridge — Stripe's $1.1B stablecoin acquisition — just got conditional OCC approval for a national trust bank charter. Here's why everyone is racing for charters:
Bridge
BridgeFeb 18, 01:48
Bridge has received OCC conditional approval to organize a federally chartered national trust bank. This will enable us to operate stablecoin products and services under direct federal oversight, including: - Custody - Orchestration - Issuance - Reserves management Stablecoins are becoming core financial infrastructure. Institutions need regulatory clarity, operational resilience, and scalable systems to build with confidence. A national trust bank establishes that foundation.
Bridge can now operate - Custody - Stablecoin Issuance - Reserve Management - Orchestration across blockchains With direct federal supervision. Giving ever larger clients more confidence in the provider of stablecoin services.
Bridge already powers custom branded stablecoins for Phantom, MetaMask, Hyperliquid, and Klarna. A federal trust charter gives all of that a regulated banking backbone.
The conditional approval is only step one. The harder part is the 18-month organizational phase — proving they can operate a federally chartered bank through mock and live exams. (Which all new trust charters have to get through) Regulation is a credibility marker. But it's earned, not given.
The bank lobby is still trying to push back. The ABA sent a letter to the OCC last week urging them to slow approvals down. Where lobbies see a threat. I see massive opportunity for banks.
Deposits are money at rest. Stablecoins are money that moves — and settles 24/7, instantly. That's a new rail, not a replacement. YouGov and Artemis found 77% of consumers want their bank to provide stablecoins. And the vast majority of stablecoins are converted to fiat within 1 to 2 weeks.
The $308B stablecoin market has a regulatory framework now. The infrastructure race is on. The banks that lean in will build new revenue lines. The ones that lobby to slow it down will watch their clients find another provider.
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