Stripe's Stablecoin Unit Wins US Bank Charter Approval
Stripe's stablecoin platform, Bridge, has received conditional approval for a US national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). This move signals a major step toward institutional stablecoin adoption and is part of a broader strategic pivot for the company, which is reportedly valued at $140 billion. Stripe joins a growing number of crypto firms securing trust charters to merge regulatory legitimacy with programmable payments.
- Stripe acquired the stablecoin platform Bridge in February 2025 for $1.1 billion, its largest acquisition to date. Bridge's technology is designed to help businesses integrate stablecoin transactions for various purposes, including global settlement and cross-border payments. - The national trust bank charter, once fully approved, will authorize Bridge to provide digital asset custody, issue stablecoins, and manage stablecoin reserves under direct federal oversight from the OCC. - Bridge's application for the charter, filed in October, was conditionally approved on February 12. This approval is seen as a critical step toward providing businesses with a clear federal framework for using stablecoins. - Several other crypto-focused firms received conditional approval for national trust bank charters from the OCC in December, including Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. - Traditional banking groups, such as the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), have opposed the approval of a national trust bank charter for Bridge. They argue that the business model represents a form of regulatory arbitrage and could introduce risks to the U.S. financial system. - This move is part of Stripe's broader strategy to use stablecoins to overcome challenges in traditional cross-border money movement, aiming to make its financial services global and programmable from day one. - Bridge has stated that its compliance framework is designed to be "GENIUS ready," referring to the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a law passed to create regulatory guardrails for stablecoins. - In April 2025, Bridge announced a partnership with Visa to launch a stablecoin-linked card issuing product. This allows developers to programmatically issue Visa cards that enable users to spend their stablecoin balance at any merchant that accepts Visa.
