Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES—Senator Warren expresses concern about OCC special charters for crypto companies, (May 20, 2026)

By Colleen M. Svelnis, J.D.

Senator Warren sent a letter to OCC head asking about special charters for nonbank crypto companies, which she alleges were approved in violation of the National Bank Act.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, has sent a letter to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Chair Jonathan Gould regarding the decision to grant multiple national trust charters to crypto companies she says have been in apparent violation of the National Bank Act. Warren raised concerns over Gould’s decision to “improperly” grant national trust charters to companies that do not qualify under the National Bank Act, arguing that the agency’s actions undermine protections designed to shield Americans from financial risk.

“(S)ince December 2025, you have approved at least nine national trust charters for crypto companies that intend to engage in activities that appear to go far beyond the narrow set of activities permitted by law. These companies are effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank,” wrote the senator. She continued, warning that the decision “to facilitate this regulatory arbitrage not only conflicts with federal law, it also poses serious risks to consumers, the safety and soundness of the banking system, and the separation of banking and commerce.”

“Despite the clear legal distinction” between national trust companies and full service national banks, the OCC has recently approved at least nine national trust company charters for companies that look like crypto banks, not trust companies, Warren wrote. She stated that many of the business plans do not include specific fiduciary trust activities and don’t even imply that bona fide fiduciary trust activities would be the primary business of the trust company. Instead, the business plans “include language that suggests the companies intend to engage in nonfiduciary custodial activities, facilitating payments and lending activities, and conducting stablecoin activities closely related to deposit-taking,” the Senator continued.

Warren asserted the approvals may conflict with the National Bank Act, because national trust companies are limited to fiduciary activities and are not permitted to engage in core banking functions such as deposit-taking or lending. Warren states that these charters have been granted to firms whose business plans appear to include custodial, trading, payments, lending, and stablecoin-related activities that extend beyond permissible trust activities. She argues that allowing these entities to operate in this manner could enable them to avoid the regulatory safeguards and obligations that apply to full-service national banks, including deposit insurance, Community Reinvestment Act requirements, and consolidated oversight under the Bank Holding Company Act.

Warren requested full charter applications for all nine approved companies, legal analyses supporting the OCC’s decisions, and all communications between OCC officials and the White House or Trump family members regarding the charter approvals by June 1, 2026. Warren also asked whether the OCC intends to reconsider or terminate any of the charters to ensure compliance with federal law.

However, Warren noted that recent OCC actions, including a March 2026 rulemaking, may be broadening the scope of permissible activities for national trust companies beyond statutory limits.

BitGo response. In response to Sen. Warren’s letter, Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo posted an “open letter” to her on X. BitGo was one of the companies named in Warren’s letter. “We agree that this asset class needs serious regulation, that consumers need real protection, and that the institutions handling client property need to be held to standards that match the responsibility,” Belshe wrote. However, he stressed he differs on the idea of what kind of institution provides that protection, and on whether the national trust charter is the answer.

According to Belshe, although Warren’s letter “frames the OCC charter as an attempt to escape regulation. The record is the opposite.” He states that BitGo “has spent the last ten years deliberately seeking out the most rigorous regulatory regimes in every major jurisdiction we serve.”

Companies: BitGo

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