Ripple Secures Key U.S. Banking Charter; CEO Signals Major News
Ripple Wins Final US Bank Charter, CEO Calls It “Big News” Ahead of Swell
Ripple has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its national trust bank, clearing the way for Ripple National Trust Bank to begin operating under federal banking supervision.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse characterized the approval as “huge news” in a social media post, emphasizing that the move supports Ripple’s goal of offering stablecoin and custody services within a regulated framework.
A national trust bank charter is the same type of federal charter used by major U.S. banks. For Ripple, it formalizes a pathway to provide enterprise-grade crypto services—particularly around stablecoin infrastructure and custody—under U.S. banking oversight.
Garlinghouse also criticized the banking lobby’s stance on crypto charter applications. Several major U.S. banking associations had publicly urged the OCC to block or slow national trust bank charter requests from crypto firms. In response, Garlinghouse questioned the industry’s resistance, asking: “What are you afraid of?”
Ripple has positioned the charter as relevant to RLUSD, its stablecoin, including reserve management. Garlinghouse said the approval supports making the stablecoin “a fully regulated product” at both federal and state levels.
The charter news arrives as Ripple continues expanding its enterprise offerings. The company has been on an acquisition streak, including the recently announced purchase of Palisade, a crypto custody company, as well as the GTreasury acquisition, which Ripple has said will help integrate RLUSD into corporate money management workflows.
At Ripple’s Swell conference, GTreasury CEO Renaat Ver Eecke said he aimed to educate clients on the benefits of using stablecoins in treasury management. Garlinghouse also indicated Ripple is likely to slow its pace of acquisitions in 2026.
The developments set the stage for Ripple Swell 2026, running October 27–29 at The Shed in Hudson Yards, New York. This year marks the first time Ripple is merging Swell with the XRPL Apex developer summit, with organizers expecting more than 1,500 attendees and over 100 speakers across 80-plus sessions.
The agenda includes discussions on tokenized assets, institutional payments, stablecoins, crypto markets, and the future of the XRP Ledger, with speakers spanning traditional finance and digital asset policy. The invite-only Platinum Summit track includes BlackRock digital assets director Max Stein and IMF monetary and capital markets chief Tobias Adrian, among others.
In a preview of the event, Ripple signaled product and partnership announcements, framing Swell as a focal point for its push to become a core blockchain infrastructure provider for enterprises and financial institutions.
