The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved on Friday (18) three operations involving national trust banks tied to digital assets and stablecoins in the United States. The decisions cover Bastion Platforms Trust Company, Catena Trust Bank and Agora National Trust Bank.
Bastion received conditional authorization to convert its state trust company into Bastion Platforms National Trust Company. Catena and Agora received preliminary conditional approvals and still need to meet regulatory requirements before starting operations.
The three institutions will have different models, but share one characteristic: bringing digital asset services into a federal banking structure supervised directly by the OCC.
Stablecoins, custody and payments enter the federal system
The Agora National Trust Bank intends to operate in dollar-backed stablecoin issuance, reserve management, digital asset custody and payment processing for companies. The plan includes transferring to the new bank the issuance of the AUSD, currently carried out by Agora Bermuda.
The Catena Trust Bank was authorized to structure custody, trust, clearing and execution services involving traditional currencies, securities and digital assets, including payment stablecoins.
Bastion, meanwhile, will be able to offer white-label stablecoin issuance, custody, asset conversion and infrastructure for other companies that want to operate their own digital currency programs.
A national trust bank does not function as a traditional commercial bank. These institutions can provide fiduciary services, custody and other authorized activities, but do not need to operate under the conventional deposit and lending model.
In the case of the three companies, the charters also do not automatically mean coverage from the FDIC. The OCC emphasized that payment stablecoins are not considered insured bank deposits.
Catena and Agora still need to meet the pre-opening conditions imposed by the regulator. The decisions expand the presence of digital asset companies within the US federal banking system, especially in areas such as stablecoin issuance, reserves, custody and institutional payments.
