Coinbase Seeks National Charter: A Grim Quest Behind Digital Trust

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In the gray belly of power, where the air tastes of ink and long nights, Coinbase has pushed forward its papers to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, begging for a national trust charter. Not for glory, not for a trumpet blast, but to widen its reach in payments as policy warms in the US. The move smells of ambition forced through bureaucratic lungs, with a hint of the wind turning in favor of crypto. 😅💼

Coinbase Does Not Aim To Be A Bank, VP Says

By definition, the National Trust Charter is a federal grant that lets an institution operate as a national trust bank. Yet such banks, in truth, are often non-depository; their labor lies in fiduciary service, custody of assets, and the management of a weighty trust. A practical trench where many crypto firms crave a license to hold and shepherd digital assets at scale, across borders. Coinbase, though, keeps its gaze fixed on the fiduciary status the license promises. It vows to move beyond custody toward payments and other services, while denying any desire to become a bank – a theater of contradictions if you squint hard enough.

Coinbase’s VP of Institutional Product, Greg Tusar, set the tone in a blog post:

Coinbase has no intention of becoming a bank. It is our firm belief that clear rules and the trust of our regulators and customers enable Coinbase to confidently innovate while ensuring proper oversight and security. If approved, the charter would continue to open up opportunities for Coinbase to launch new products beyond custody, including payments and related services, with the confidence of regulatory clarity, fostering broader institutional adoption.

He called the charter a “significant step” in growing the exchange’s operations and nudging innovation into the mainstream of crypto, as if the future were a street cat basking in the glow of a factory lamp. 😏

The exchange executive added:

While progress is underway in Congress to craft clear market structure, crypto is already woven into the fabric of the financial system. An OCC charter will streamline oversight for new offerings and enable continued innovation to integrate digital assets into traditional finance. We’re not the first crypto company to seek a federal charter and we won’t be the last.

Beside Coinbase, other crypto firms that have filed similar applications with the OCC include blockchain company Ripple Labs and stablecoin operator Paxos – a chorus of machines rattling in the same corridor, each seeking its own light in the ledger’s shadow. 🤖

Coinbase Payments Push

Beyond the charter, Coinbase is pushing into the payment markets with the stubborn persistence of a factory bell. In June, the exchange struck a deal with Shopify to let the USDC stablecoin slip into its payment options. At press time, COIN traded around $382, up a modest 2.14% in the last day – a number that glimmers like a coin in a soot-streaked pocket. 🪙🤞

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2025-10-04 19:34