Ripple gets final US trust bank approval. What does XRP gain?

Ripple said it secured final US approval for a national trust bank despite objections from traditional banking groups concerned about crypto firms entering regulated finance.

The company announced on Oct. 26 that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had granted final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank to manage RLUSD reserves, serve as collateral trustee and provide fiduciary digital asset custody. Ripple put RLUSD’s market capitalization at $2.5 billion in the announcement.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said:

“We’ve spent over a decade building regulated financial infrastructure that institutions can actually use at scale. A national trust charter gives us an even stronger foundation for RLUSD and the institutional products we’re building across payments, custody and capital markets.”

However, the implications for XRP remain less straightforward, with the bank's immediate responsibilities centered on stablecoin reserves and custody rather than the token itself.

The approval follows a prolonged dispute over whether crypto companies should be permitted to establish federally chartered trust banks without meeting all the requirements imposed on conventional lenders.

In July 2025, the American Bankers Association (ABA) and four other banking and credit union groups urged the OCC to postpone applications involving Ripple and several other digital asset firms.

The organizations questioned whether their proposed activities qualified as traditional fiduciary services and argued that approving the charters could represent a significant departure from established banking practices.

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) subsequently opposed Ripple's application directly, warning that allowing nontraditional companies to provide deposit-like services without equivalent regulatory safeguards could threaten financial stability.

Despite those objections, the OCC granted Ripple conditional approval in December 2025 before completing the chartering process this week.

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty portrayed the decision as validation of the company's longstanding regulatory approach. He said: