Senator Elizabeth Warren is increasing her scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry, focusing now on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) approval of national trust bank charters for companies dealing in digital assets.
She’s now focused on approvals recently given by the OCC, particularly those with conditions attached. This comes as traditional banks have already been voicing concerns all year.
Warren Challenges OCC On Crypto Charters
According to Bloomberg, Senator Warren is questioning whether certain companies are qualified to receive the charters they’ve been granted.
In a letter to Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Senator expressed concern that the regulator has approved at least nine charters for cryptocurrency companies. She believes these approvals allow the companies to operate in ways that exceed what the law permits, and she suggested this could be a violation of the National Bank Act.
Last December saw approvals granted to several major cryptocurrency companies, including Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity, and Paxos.
Companies like Coinbase (COIN) received preliminary approval from the OCC to create Coinbase National Trust Company. At the same time, Payward, the company behind Kraken, also applied for a similar charter to establish its own National Trust Company.
These approvals would let companies handle and store customers’ assets, potentially making payments settle much faster than with previous methods.
Senator Warren’s concerns aren’t just about what these trusts are currently permitted to do, but also about how some companies might operate in the future.
OCC’s Defense
As a crypto investor, I’ve been following Senator Warren’s concerns, and it seems she’s right to point out that some crypto companies are expanding beyond just holding assets for others. They’re starting to act more like traditional banks – offering things like loans, payment processing, and even running their own exchanges. It’s a big shift, and definitely something we need to pay attention to.
She believes that relaxing regulations for trust companies this year could unintentionally allow cryptocurrency businesses to expand their financial operations beyond appropriate limits, without the usual safeguards and monitoring required of traditional banks.
Senator Warren explained her worry: allowing cryptocurrency companies to operate like banks without similar rules and protections could harm consumers and destabilize the financial system.
However, the Senator isn’t the only one raising concerns about the OCC’s actions. Throughout the year, traditional banks have also expressed worries, claiming the OCC is expanding the original purpose of the national trust bank charter with its recent approvals.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), led by Comptroller Jonathan Gould, has explained its reasoning. Last year, Gould pointed out that allowing new banks to open could increase competition and give customers more choices in financial products and services.
He believes the OCC’s plan will help both customers and banks, and move the industry forward with improvements, not weaken regulations.
Featured image created with OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
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2026-05-19 21:12