A legal challenge filed October 2 is putting pressure on how federal regulators have been approving bank charters for crypto companies. The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) is asking a court to throw out the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s chartering framework.
The case landed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould listed as defendants. ICBA’s core legal theory rests on the National Bank Act, which the group says confines trust banks that don’t accept deposits to fiduciary work and activities closely tied to it. In the group’s view, the OCC has let crypto firms stretch well past that boundary.
Two pieces of OCC policy sit at the heart of the complaint. ICBA wants a March 2026 chartering rule thrown out, along with a 2021 interpretive letter the agency has leaned on to justify its approach. Beyond vacating those documents, the group is pushing for an order that would block the OCC from relying on either one to approve or conditionally approve future charters. Among existing charter holders, only Protego’s approval is being challenged directly. ICBA stopped short of asking the court to undo charters already issued to other crypto trust firms.
In explaining the lawsuit, ICBA said its goal is to force the regulator back within its legal boundaries. “ICBA is asking the court to return the OCC to its statutory limits. Any non-fiduciary firm seeking the benefits of a federal bank charter should meet the same standards as community banks,” the organisation said.
Trust charters of this kind come with real limitations built in. Companies holding them can manage client funds and handle transactions, however taking deposits or issuing loans is off-limits.
Rebeca Romero Rainey, ICBA’s president and CEO, said, “American consumers reasonably expect a federally chartered bank to carry federal protections,” she said. She echoed the group’s broader argument that the lawsuit is ultimately about keeping the OCC within its statutory boundaries.
