Ripple Wins Final US Bank Charter: CEO Calls It 'Big News' Ahead of Swell

Final Charter Clears Path for Enterprise Custody

Enterprises will gain a federally supervised platform for stablecoin infrastructure and digital asset custody when Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB) opens. Blockchain infrastructure provider Ripple disclosed the final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Oct. 26.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, called the decision “Big news” ahead of Swell, Ripple’s annual blockchain and finance conference. His comments on federal supervision appeared on X that day. “This gives Ripple a federally supervised platform to support $RLUSD and provide digital asset custody to enterprises. We’ve always said crypto and banks work better together — this is what that looks like,” Garlinghouse said, adding:

“Real innovation, real accountability, federal oversight. The revolution isn’t happening outside the system. It’s happening from within it.”

Conditional authorization preceded the final decision, with Ripple receiving its conditional national trust bank approval on Dec. 12, 2025. The latest authorization completes RNTB’s organization process and establishes its approved business activities.

$RLUSD Issuance Continues Under New York Oversight

Standard Custody & Trust Company (SCTC), Ripple’s limited purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), will continue issuing $RLUSD. The token is a stablecoin designed to track the U.S. dollar. RNTB adds federal supervision to the infrastructure backing it.

Federal regulators originally included Ripple in a broader round of five conditional trust bank charter approvals. That group also encompassed First National Digital Currency Bank and proposed conversions of state trust companies operated by Bitgo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos.

Reserve assets include U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government securities, and other cash equivalents, with BNY as the primary reserve custodian. Ripple publishes monthly independent third-party attestations covering circulating supply and backing assets. Launched in December 2024, $RLUSD operates across Ripple’s payments infrastructure and serves as collateral within Ripple Prime, its prime brokerage business.

Institutional Uses Extend Across Payments and Trading

Eligible institutions also gained Standard Chartered custody for $RLUSD on the XRP Ledger earlier this month. Its Dubai International Financial Centre branch operates in a financial hub with its own legal framework. A separate planned integration with Ripple and LMAX Group, an operator of foreign exchange and digital asset trading venues, would enable trading collateral use, subject to testing, documentation, and applicable approvals.

Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, outlined RNTB’s reserve and custody functions on X on Oct. 26:

“This is much more than a charter on paper. RNTB is designed to manage reserves supporting $RLUSD, serve as collateral trustee for $RLUSD holders, and provide regulated digital asset custody — bringing federal banking supervision directly into the infrastructure institutions use.”

Ripple will continue working with the OCC, NYDFS, and other regulators as RNTB begins operations and the United States implements the GENIUS Act, a law establishing a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.