OCC Opens Three Bank Doors to Stablecoins and AI Agents

U.S. financial regulators have issued conditional approvals for three new national trust banks.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Friday (Sept. 18) granted those approvals for Agora National Trust Bank, Catena Trust Bank, while allowing the conversion of Bastion Platforms Trust Company into a national bank.

“If you are a bank, you cannot rely on simple fintech unless they are federally regulated,” Bastion CEO Nassim Eddequiouaq told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Friday.

“We can now be that regulated partner for all of the largest financial institutions in and outside of the U.S., who want to launch products here.”

As that report noted, Bastion issues white-label stablecoins for other companies, and oversees custody of holding reserves and customer wallets. WSJ also points out the increasing traction stablecoins are getting in the mainstream financial world, as advocates champion them for quicker transactions with lower fees than wire transfers.

“There’s going to be this expectation that banks can actually transact 24/7 for a fraction of a cent,” Eddequiouaq said.