Senator Elizabeth Warren has leveled serious accusations against Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), claiming that his agency’s recent approval of national trust charters for cryptocurrency firms may have breached banking laws. In a pointed letter addressed to Gould, Warren contends that the OCC has greenlit at least nine charters for crypto companies whose intended activities exceed the legal boundaries established by the National Bank Act.
Warren demanded transparency from the OCC, requesting a comprehensive release of all applications approved or conditionally approved since December 2025, notably those involving prominent companies like Coinbase, Ripple, and Fidelity Digital Assets. The senator also called for all communications related to these approvals between the OCC and Donald Trump, emphasizing concerns about potential conflicts of interest tied to the former president.
“These companies are effectively crypto banks that want to evade the fundamental safeguards and obligations that come with being a bank,” Warren remarked. “Your decision to facilitate this regulatory arbitrage jeopardizes consumer protection and undermines the integrity of the banking system.”
As the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Warren has consistently criticized regulatory practices that may present conflicts stemming from Trump’s relationships within the crypto sphere. Last week, she urged the OCC to postpone discussions regarding the Trump family-backed firm World Liberty Financial, which is currently seeking a charter.
In a notable development in the crypto sector, Payward — the parent organization of the Kraken exchange — submitted an application for a national trust charter on May 8. Should it gain approval, the charter would empower Kraken to provide fiduciary custody services primarily for digital assets, further blurring the lines between traditional finance and the burgeoning crypto marketplace.
National trust bank charters allow firms to deliver fiduciary services without engaging in deposit-taking or commercial lending, thus escaping rigorous regulation faced by conventional banks. This flexibility, however, raises alarms regarding the oversight of financial entities that operate within an increasingly digitized economy.
The OCC has yet to respond to requests for comment, leaving industry watchers in suspense as the implications of these developments continue to unfold.
Source: Cointelegraph
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