WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on December 12, 2025, granted conditional approval to Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos to become federally licensed trust banks.
The decision is a landmark step in bringing U.S. dollar stablecoin infrastructure under federal banking oversight, following the passage of the GENIUS Act requiring only permitted entities to issue stablecoins starting January 2027.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the OCC decision a 'massive step' for his company's $1.3 billion RLUSD stablecoin. Under the new law, stablecoins must maintain 1:1 reserves in short-term treasuries and disclose reserve composition monthly.
