Stripe's stablecoin firm Bridge wins initial approval of national bank trust charter

The U.S. banking licence would let Bridge to contented and negociate stablecoins nether nonstop national oversight.

Feb 17, 2026, 8:10 p.m.

Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure steadfast owned by Stripe, said Tuesday it has received conditional support from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to signifier a nationalist spot bank.

The charter would fto Bridge National Trust Bank contented stablecoins, custody integer assets and negociate reserves nether nonstop national oversight. It’s the latest measurement successful Stripe’s broader propulsion into blockchain-based payments since it acquired Bridge for $1.1 cardinal successful 2024.

"This support positions Bridge to assistance enterprises, fintechs, crypto businesses and fiscal institutions physique with integer dollars wrong a wide national framework," the institution said successful the property release.

Bridge says its systems already conscionable the compliance standards outlined successful the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, the instrumentality passed past twelvemonth that's aimed astatine regulating stablecoin issuers. Federal banking regulators, including the OCC, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., haven't yet instituted the circumstantial regulations mandated by the GENIUS Act, but they're moving done that process now.

Bridge is portion of a increasing radical of firms seeking to physique stablecoin products wrong a national framework. In December, Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets and BitGo each received akin conditional approvals from the OCC, and Erebor Bank was granted a conditional nationalist slope charter successful October. Bridge applied for its charter successful October, and the OCC's records amusement it signed disconnected past week.

The institution presently powers stablecoin issuance for products similar Phantom’s CASH and MetaMask’s mUSD via Stripe’s Open Issuance platform.

The OCC has not announced a timeline for last approval.

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The firm’s 4th money positions it alongside a16z and Paradigm adjacent arsenic blockchain VC fundraising contracts and investors pivot toward stablecoins and tokenized finance.