WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved three new national trust banks as companies developing stablecoin and artificial intelligence-based financial services seek federal oversight.
The OCC last week granted conditional approval to Agora National Trust Bank and Catena Trust Bank. It also approved the conversion of Bastion Platforms Trust Co. into a national trust bank, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The approvals remain subject to the companies satisfying organizational, capital, compliance and other regulatory requirements before beginning operations.
Bastion provides white-label stablecoins for businesses and oversees the custody of reserves and customer wallets. The company expects its federal charter to make it a regulated partner for large financial institutions seeking to offer digital-asset products in the United States.
‘Can’t Rely on Simple Fintech’
“If you are a bank, you cannot rely on simple fintech unless they are federally regulated,” Bastion CEO Nassim Eddequiouaq told the Journal.
“We can now be that regulated partner for all of the largest financial institutions in and outside of the U.S., who want to launch products here,” he added.
Stablecoins, which are digital assets generally designed to maintain a fixed value relative to the U.S. dollar or another asset, are gaining broader attention from financial institutions. Supporters say they can provide faster, less expensive transactions than traditional wire transfers.
“There’s going to be this expectation that banks can actually transact 24/7 for a fraction of a cent,” Eddequiouaq told the Journal.
Infrastructure Being Developed
Catena is developing financial infrastructure for AI agents, including accounts, payment capabilities, treasury services and controls governing how automated agents can use money.
The company says its platform is being built specifically for AI rather than adapting an existing banking system. Its planned features include policy enforcement, permanent audit trails and verifiable identities for AI agents.
Agora, which applied for a national trust bank charter in April, issues the AUSD stablecoin. The company is also developing settlement infrastructure, treasury-management services, connections to traditional currencies and tools designed to help global businesses use digital dollars.
Agora CEO and co-founder Nick van Eck said when the application was announced that a federal charter would provide the regulatory framework needed to offer those services on a larger scale.
Sharp Increase in Apps
The three approvals come amid a sharp increase in applications for new financial institutions. The OCC said in August that it had received 40 applications to form new banks during the previous 18 months, including applications for national trust banks. The agency received 48 applications during the 14 years from 2011 through 2024.
