Ripple Follows Circle in Bid for US Banking License

Crypto payments firm Ripple confirmed Wednesday that it has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to obtain a national bank charter.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared the news via X on Wednesday, following a report from the Wall Street Journal.

“True to our long-standing compliance roots, Ripple is applying for a national bank charter from the OCC,” he wrote. “If approved, we would have both state (via NYDFS) and federal oversight, a new (and unique!) benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market.”

Ripple’s move comes just two days after USDC stablecoin issuer Circle confirmed its own application to secure a national bank charter. Anchorage Digital is the only digital assets firm to currently hold such a charter.

Editor’s note: This story is breaking and will be updated with additional detail.