The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure company Stripe acquired for $1.1 billion in 2024, conditional approval to establish a national trust bank. The decision, confirmed on February 17, 2026, clears a path for Bridge National Trust Bank to issue stablecoins, custody digital assets, and manage reserves under direct federal oversight.
Bridge is now the seventh major crypto-adjacent firm to receive conditional OCC approval since the agency began processing digital asset charter applications in earnest. Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, and BitGo all secured their own conditional approvals in December 2025. But Bridge is the first to arrive backed by a payments giant that processed $1.4 trillion in total volume in 2024 alone.
The $1.1 Billion Bet That Just Got a Federal Stamp
Stripe's acquisition of Bridge was already the largest crypto-related deal in fintech history when it closed in February 2025. At the time, Bridge had processed over $5 billion in annualized stablecoin payment volume. The bet was straightforward: stablecoins would become the backbone of global payments, and owning the issuance layer would give Stripe a structural advantage over every competitor still routing through SWIFT and correspondent banks.
The OCC's conditional approval validates that thesis at the regulatory level. Bridge National Trust Bank would operate under the same federal framework that governs traditional trust companies, subjecting its stablecoin operations to OCC examination, capital requirements, and compliance standards. Bridge stated that the approval "positions Bridge to help enterprises, fintechs, crypto businesses and financial institutions build with digital dollars inside a clear federal framework."
The charter application was filed in October 2025, roughly four months before the conditional approval landed.
What Bridge Actually Does, and Why a Bank Charter Changes Everything
Bridge is not a consumer-facing stablecoin issuer like Circle or Tether. It operates as infrastructure, providing the plumbing that lets other companies issue their own branded stablecoins through its Open Issuance platform. That distinction matters enormously for the crypto card ecosystem.
Phantom's CASH, a stablecoin built on Solana, was the first token issued through Open Issuance. MetaMask's mUSD and Hyperliquid's USDH followed. In each case, Bridge handles reserve management, minting and redemption mechanics, liquidity routing, and compliance. Reserve assets are managed by BlackRock, Fidelity, Superstate, and Lead Bank, giving each issued stablecoin a transparent backing structure.
Without a bank charter, Bridge operates under a patchwork of state money transmitter licenses. A national trust bank charter would replace that fragmentation with a single federal license, allowing Bridge to operate uniformly across all 50 states and potentially streamline its international expansion. For every company building on Open Issuance, that means one less regulatory bottleneck between their product and their users.
The charter also opens the door to direct access to Federal Reserve payment systems, though the OCC has not confirmed whether Bridge would receive master account access at this stage.
A Growing Federal Club for Stablecoin Issuers
Bridge joins a rapidly expanding class of crypto firms seeking to operate inside the traditional banking perimeter rather than adjacent to it. The December 2025 approvals for Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets signaled a clear shift in OCC posture under the current administration. Where previous comptrollers waffled on whether crypto firms could hold federal charters, the current OCC has moved to actively grant them.
The timing aligns with the GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins), which passed in 2025 to create a formal regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers. Bridge has stated that its systems already comply with the Act's requirements, suggesting the company anticipated this regulatory trajectory well before filing its application.
Not everyone is celebrating. The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) publicly opposed Bridge's charter application in late 2025, arguing that a stablecoin trust bank would violate the intended scope of the national trust charter. Traditional banking lobbies have consistently pushed back against crypto firms gaining federal bank status, viewing it as an end-run around the deposit insurance system and traditional banking oversight.
What This Means for Stablecoin Card Users
For anyone spending stablecoins through a crypto card, Bridge's charter approval matters in ways that are not immediately obvious. The infrastructure behind your card's top-up and spending rails is only as stable as the companies operating it. A federally chartered Bridge means the stablecoin issuance layer powering cards from Phantom and MetaMask sits inside a regulated banking entity rather than a licensed-but-not-banked fintech.
That distinction carries real weight in counterparty risk terms. When a custodial provider faces insolvency, as FTX and Wirecard demonstrated, user balances can be frozen or lost. A national trust bank charter subjects Bridge to OCC supervision, regular examinations, and capital adequacy requirements that money transmitter licenses do not impose.
It also positions Bridge-issued stablecoins as potentially interchangeable. Open Issuance stablecoins are designed to be interoperable, meaning CASH, mUSD, and USDH can be swapped one-for-one. If that interoperability extends to card top-ups, users could load any Open Issuance stablecoin and spend through any compatible card, reducing the friction that currently locks users into vendor-specific ecosystems.
The Payments Giant Behind the Stablecoin Startup
The elephant in the room is Stripe itself. With $1.4 trillion in payment volume processed in 2024, Stripe is one of the largest payment processors on the planet. Its merchant network spans millions of businesses across 195 countries. If Bridge-issued stablecoins gain traction as a payment method within Stripe's existing merchant ecosystem, the implications extend far beyond crypto cards.
Consider the x402 payment standard that Stripe launched on Base in early 2025, which allows AI agents to pay directly in USDC. A federally chartered Bridge could issue the stablecoins that power those autonomous transactions, creating a closed loop where Stripe handles the merchant side, Bridge handles the issuance side, and the OCC oversees both.
For crypto card providers, this creates both opportunity and competitive pressure. Providers building on Bridge infrastructure gain the legitimacy of a federally chartered issuer. Providers using competing infrastructure face an increasingly regulated landscape where users may gravitate toward cards backed by chartered institutions.
FAQ
What does conditional OCC approval actually mean? Conditional approval means the OCC has agreed in principle to grant Bridge a national trust bank charter, but Bridge must still meet additional regulatory requirements before it can begin operations. These typically include finalizing capital plans, compliance systems, and governance structures. The OCC has not announced a timeline for final approval.
Does this affect existing stablecoins issued through Bridge? Not immediately. Phantom's CASH, MetaMask's mUSD, and other Open Issuance stablecoins continue to operate under Bridge's current licensing. Once the charter is finalized, these stablecoins would fall under federal bank oversight, potentially strengthening their regulatory standing.
Which other crypto firms have received OCC bank charter approvals? Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, and BitGo all received conditional approvals in December 2025. Erebor Bank obtained a conditional national bank charter in October 2025.
Will Bridge have access to the Federal Reserve payment system? The OCC has not confirmed whether Bridge's charter would include master account access. This remains one of the most contested issues in crypto banking, as master account access would allow Bridge to settle payments directly through the Fed rather than relying on intermediary banks.
Overview
Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure firm Stripe acquired for $1.1 billion, has received conditional OCC approval to form Bridge National Trust Bank. The charter would enable stablecoin issuance, digital asset custody, and reserve management under direct federal oversight. Bridge is the seventh crypto-adjacent firm to secure this type of approval, joining Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Erebor Bank. The move brings Stripe's $1.4 trillion payment processing volume one step closer to native stablecoin integration, with potential implications for every crypto card provider building on Bridge's Open Issuance platform. Banking industry opposition from the ICBA and the outstanding question of Federal Reserve master account access remain unresolved. Conditional approval is not final, and Bridge must meet additional OCC requirements before commencing operations.
Recommended Reading
- CFTC Chair Selig Says the CLARITY Act Is on the Cusp of Becoming Law, Promising a Gold Standard for Crypto Regulation
- White House Crypto Adviser Tells Banks to Stop Fighting Stablecoin Yield and Start Competing
- Bundesbank President Calls for Euro Stablecoins and a Retail CBDC to Break Europe's Dollar Dependency
