In a rather significant crypto development, Ripple Labs hopes to embed itself within the traditional U.S. financial system by applying for a national banking license.
Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed on X that Ripple is seeking a national bank charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), further aligning its operations with federal oversight.
“True to our long-standing compliance roots, Ripple is applying for a national bank charter,” Garlinghouse wrote, validating a report by The Wall Street Journal.
What does this mean for Ripple?
If Ripple’s application succeeds, it would place the company under both state and federal regulation, allowing it to compete more actively with traditional financial institutions and stablecoin issuers.
Ripple’s U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD, is already regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Garlinghouse was confident that a national charter would help Ripple position itself as a “a benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market.”
Ripple has also reportedly applied for a Federal Reserve Master Account, a rare step which Garlinghouse believes allows Ripple to hold RLUSD reserves directly with the central bank.
“This access would allow us to hold $RLUSD reserves directly with the Fed and provide an additional layer of security to future proof trust in RLUSD,” he said.
“Congress is working towards clear rules and regulations, and banks (in a far cry from the years of Operation Chokepoint 2.0) are leaning in,” he added.
The announcement follows that of Circle, which filed a similar application with the OCC for a national trust bank charter.
Both moves signal a growing trend among crypto firms to seek legitimacy through federal oversight, especially as Congress advances the GENIUS Act.