The Independent Community Bankers of America filed suit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on October 2, accusing the federal regulator of exceeding its legal authority by granting trust charters to cryptocurrency firms. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges the OCC's interpretation of the National Bank Act.
ICBA alleges that the OCC lacks statutory power to issue trust charters to crypto companies operating outside the traditional banking system. The suit names the regulator's authority to grant such charters as the core violation, claiming the move expands the OCC's mandate beyond what Congress intended when it wrote the National Bank Act provisions governing trust powers.
The OCC has positioned itself as the primary federal regulator for cryptocurrency trusts and custody operations since 2020, when it began allowing national banks to provide crypto services. Under that framework, the agency granted conditional charters to firms operating digital asset custodies and trust accounts, treating crypto holdings as equivalent to traditional securities and commodities in the eyes of banking law. The OCC stated at the time that its interpretation aligned with existing statutory language authorizing national banks to exercise fiduciary powers.
ICBA represents roughly 5,000 community banks across the United States. The group has previously contested OCC decisions on broader regulatory grounds, arguing that the regulator's crypto initiatives create competitive advantages for large banks and nonbank firms over smaller institutions. Community banks have limited resources to build crypto compliance infrastructure and cannot match the scale of larger competitors already operating in the space.
The lawsuit arrives as the SEC, CFTC and state regulators compete over jurisdiction of different aspects of digital asset activity. No other bank association has filed a similar challenge to the OCC's trust charter program, though some community banking coalitions have raised concerns in comment letters to the agency.
OCC officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit. The agency has defended its crypto initiatives as within its existing mandate to supervise national banks and their activities, and argued that federal oversight prevents a patchwork of state-level rules.
The outcome will determine whether the OCC can continue issuing trust charters or must withdraw existing approvals and suspend new applications pending legislative action. A ruling for ICBA would restrict the regulator's ability to expand crypto services through existing bank charters, potentially shifting crypto custody operations to less-regulated nonbank entities or state-chartered alternatives.
