Stablecoin fintech company Dakota has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter Dakota National Trust Bank, a de novo national trust bank. If approved, the new entity would let Dakota offer digital asset custody, U.S. dollar stablecoin issuance, and related transactional services as a federally regulated bank, rather than through the state-by-state money transmitter licenses it uses today.
According to the application filed with the OCC on July 28, 2026, Dakota National Trust Bank would be chartered under Sections 21, 24(Seventh), and 92a of the National Bank Act, the same provisions that let national banks act as a fiduciary trustee. The bank would be headquartered in New York and would, upon opening, provide three things: digital asset custody as a fiduciary, issuance of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins, and customer-directed transactional services connected to those two functions.
Dakota is a five-year-old fintech founded by Ryan Bozarth, previously chief executive of Coinbase’s custody arm, and Gabriel Grazier G’Sell. The company currently operates as a registered Money Services Business. A trust bank charter would let it operate under a single federal regulator instead of a patchwork of state licenses.
Crowded Stablecoin Licensing Space
Dakota’s filing is one entry in a much longer line. The OCC has already confirmed that national trust banks can begin issuing stablecoins even before the GENIUS Act, the federal law governing stablecoin issuers, formally takes effect. That law is set to apply starting January 18, 2027, or 120 days after regulators issue final implementing rules, whichever comes first. That compressed runway is driving a wave of charter applications from crypto and fintech firms trying to secure federal status ahead of the deadline.
Circle was first to cross the finish line, receiving conditional approval for its trust bank in December 2025 and final approval in July 2026. Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, Crypto.com, and Stripe’s stablecoin subsidiary Bridge have all also received conditional approval at various points over the past several months. Dakota now joins a fresh batch of pending applicants still waiting for a decision.
Circle was first through the process. Its entity, First National Digital Currency Bank, filed as a de novo applicant and received conditional approval in December 2025, followed by final approval in July 2026, covering custody and stablecoin issuance.
Ripple National Trust Bank followed the same de novo path and received conditional approval in December 2025, covering custody and issuance of its RLUSD stablecoin. BitGo Bank & Trust and Paxos Trust Company both took a different route, converting existing state trust charters into national ones, and both received conditional approval in December 2025 to custody assets and issue their respective stablecoins, USDS and PYUSD.
Fidelity Digital Assets also converted from a state charter and received conditional approval in December 2025, though its stablecoin issuance is still planned rather than active. Crypto.com and Bridge, the stablecoin subsidiary Stripe acquired in 2024, both filed as de novo applicants and received conditional approval in February 2026, each covering custody and stablecoin issuance. So, Dakota National Trust Bank is the newest de novo filing, submitted in July 2026 and still pending, seeking the same custody and issuance authority as the rest of the group.
A national trust bank charter is narrower than a full commercial bank charter. It does not grant lending or deposit-taking powers, and it does not automatically come with access to a Federal Reserve master account. What it does provide is a single federal regulator, preemption of state licensing requirements, and fiduciary authority to custody digital assets and issue stablecoins under OCC supervision.
Circle and Ripple both chose the de novo route, building an entirely new bank from scratch. BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos instead converted existing state trust charters into national ones. The OCC has approved both paths, and applicants still waiting for a decision, including Coinbase and World Liberty Financial, span both approaches as well.
For now, the OCC has confirmed that national trust banks can begin issuing stablecoins under this charter even before the GENIUS Act’s formal effective date. That gives early movers a head start in a market where federal status is becoming a competitive differentiator. PaySpace Magazine Global must note, however, that the U.S. authorities did not manage to issue the full rulebook for the stablecoin industry by a previously established deadline, hence leaving many crypto players less time to adjust to any rules they might decide to introduce. With the January 2027 deadline compressing the field, expect the OCC’s pending applications list to keep growing before it starts to shrink.
