US Bank Regulator Grants OpenReserve Preliminary Operating Approval

U.S. banking agency gives blockchain bank OpenReserve initial OK to operate

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted a provisional national bank charter to OpenReserve, a crypto-focused startup planning to operate as a full-service bank with embedded onchain settlement.

OpenReserve said it deliberately pursued a full national bank charter rather than a narrower trust-company model, positioning itself as a regulated banking institution designed to support continuous, blockchain-enabled settlement. The company submitted its application to the OCC in April, according to its statement.

The OCC did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the charter approval.

In a statement, OpenReserve co-founder and CEO Dee Choubey framed the charter approach as integral to the company’s strategy. “We chose the national bank path deliberately,” Choubey said, adding that “supervision, safety and soundness, compliance, and customer confidence” are “the foundation” of what the company is building.

The approval adds OpenReserve to a growing set of crypto-native institutions receiving preliminary or conditional approvals from U.S. banking regulators. In many recent cases, the OCC’s preliminary approvals have involved trust-bank structures. OpenReserve, however, said it is pursuing a full-service national bank model, with a business concept centered on an onchain ledger and stablecoin infrastructure aimed at supporting continuous settlement.

OpenReserve emphasized that these onchain capabilities are planned features and not services currently available to customers.

The company also disclosed operational details tied to its proposed crypto activity. OpenReserve said it could receive transaction fees in cryptocurrency, but would generally need to convert those assets into fiat within one business day unless retaining them serves a permitted purpose, such as paying anticipated blockchain gas fees.

The bank’s path to launch still includes a series of compliance and readiness steps. OpenReserve must establish programs covering Bank Secrecy Act obligations, sanctions compliance, credit risk, and information security, along with appointing an independent auditor and preparing financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles.

OpenReserve said it has raised funding from a range of investors. The round included a16z crypto, which described its thesis as backing a banking model designed for continuous availability. “We need a bank that’s always on, always open, always available,” a16z crypto said in an online post. “A bank that never closes. A continuous bank.”

Other backers named by OpenReserve include Acrew, Wintermute Ventures, Clocktower, Quona, AAF Management and Zero Knowledge Ventures.

• What happened: OpenReserve received a provisional OCC national bank charter.
• Why it matters: It signals continued regulatory willingness to consider crypto-native banking models, including full-service charter structures.
• What’s next: OpenReserve must complete security, compliance, audit, and financial reporting requirements before launching services.