Bastion, a provider of stablecoin infrastructure, has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Bastion Platforms National Trust Company. The decision places the firm’s operations under federal supervision while retaining its existing state licenses.

The national trust bank will focus on stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure and white-label issuance. It will also handle fiat-to-USDC conversion for custody clients and support other regulated issuers. The company does not issue its own stablecoin and has partnered with Sony Bank.

Scope of the Approved Activities

Under the conditional charter, Bastion Platforms National Trust Company will operate from a primary place of business at 216 Bowery in New York City. The application for conversion was filed on March 30, 2026, under Charter Number 27198. The OCC also granted a citizenship waiver for one of the firm’s directors.

The structure unifies issuance support, custodial wallets and related services within a single federally regulated entity. Clients will be able to access the full suite of products through one counterparty rather than coordinating across multiple state-licensed operations.

Bastion has pursued federal oversight since obtaining its New York trust charter in February 2025. The firm later expanded its board and advisory group with executives who previously worked at American Express, Morgan Stanley, EY and Optum.

Limitations of the Trust Bank Model

The charter does not authorize the institution to accept deposits or extend loans. It will not carry Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage. Before commencing operations, the company must acquire stock in a Federal Reserve bank and satisfy all remaining conditions set by the OCC.

Access to Federal Reserve payment systems is not automatic under a national trust charter. The model therefore functions primarily as a regulated custody and infrastructure platform rather than a full-service commercial bank.

Industry Context and Regulatory Momentum

Bastion’s approval arrives during a broader increase in digital-asset charter applications. The OCC has received 40 new-bank charter requests over roughly 18 months, with 23 involving digital-asset activity—an eightfold rise compared with the prior four-year period.

Several other firms have advanced along similar paths. Ripple obtained conditional approval for a comparable charter. Circle and BitGo have secured final approvals. Additional applications have been filed by the parent of Kraken, Zerohash and Block.

The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, has influenced the regulatory framework. The OCC proposed related rules covering reserve assets, redemption, custody, risk management and issuer oversight, with a final rule expected by November.

As of June 2026 the stablecoin market stood at approximately $270 billion. Growth in dollar-pegged tokens that hold Treasury bills as reserves could increase demand for short-term U.S. government securities.

Political Scrutiny

The expansion of national trust charters for crypto firms has drawn criticism. In a May 18 letter, Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that the OCC had approved at least nine such charters and argued that the recipients were effectively operating as crypto banks while avoiding core banking obligations.

The OCC reached a different legal conclusion in Bastion’s case. It determined that the proposed custody, conversion, white-label issuance and issuer-support activities fall within the powers permitted for national trust companies under federal banking law.

Bastion previously raised $14.6 million in a September 2025 funding round led by Coinbase Ventures. Participants included Sony, the investment subsidiary of Samsung, the crypto investment arm of Andreessen Horowitz and Hashed.

The conditional approval represents an intermediate regulatory step. Full operational authority remains subject to satisfaction of the OCC’s remaining requirements.