Ripple’s Banking Edge Shrinks as OCC Approves Three Crypto Rivals

Key Takeaways

• The OCC approved national trust bank applications from Bastion, Catena, and Agora on Sept. 18.

• Agora plans to move AUSD issuance into its proposed bank, while Bastion intends to provide white-label stablecoin services.

• Ripple's proposed bank would safeguard RLUSD reserves and custody crypto.

Ripple's push to place part of its stablecoin business under federal banking supervision is becoming considerably less exclusive.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved three crypto-focused national trust banks on Sept. 18, adding Bastion, Catena, and Agora to a rapidly expanding field of federally regulated digital asset institutions.

The decisions may weaken the scarcity value of Ripple's preliminary approval, particularly since two of the new applicants plan to compete directly in the stablecoin infrastructure space.

OCC Approves Three Crypto Banks in One Day

The OCC's decisions page shows that the regulator approved all three applications on the same day.

Bastion Platforms Trust Company received permission to convert its existing New York trust company into Bastion Platforms National Trust Company.

Meanwhile, the OCC granted preliminary conditional approval for two new institutions: Catena Trust Bank and Agora National Trust Bank