ICBA起诉OCC，阻止加密货币公司使用国家信托银行牌照

The Independent Community Bankers Association of the United States sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to prevent cryptocurrency companies from using the National Trust Bank license

The Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) has filed a lawsuit in federal court over regulatory practices it considers unreasonable, challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)'s practice of granting National Trust Bank licenses to companies that mainly engage in digital asset activities. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Federal Court in Washington, D.C. on October 2, a move that once again focused public attention on the OCC's regulatory strategy for cryptocurrency companies in the U.S. banking industry.

ICBA questions OCC's interpretation of national trust licenses

The core of the conflict lies in the rule update issued by the OCC in February 2026. The update replaces the term "fiduciary activities" in its national trust bank licensing regulations with "trust company operations and related activities." The revision took effect on April 1, and the OCC said the move was intended to clarify existing terms of reference rather than expand the agency's authority.

As a well-known industry association representing more than 5000 community banks in the United States, the ICBA claims that the OCC allows digital asset companies to obtain national trust licenses without being subject to the same standards as traditional federal deposit insurance banks, a move that exceeds the scope of its legal authorization. The ICBA complaint specifically named Jonathan Gould, OCC Comptroller of the Currency, and aimed to overturn the March 2026 licensing rules and Interpretive Letter 1176, which was first issued by the OCC in January 2021.

Explanatory Letter No. 1176 concluded that National Trust Bank could carry out activities for which state trust companies were licensed, even if those activities were not in a fiduciary nature. The ICBA argued that this interpretation allows cryptocurrency companies to enter the banking system through national trust licenses, a path Congress did not intend to allow digital asset businesses to pass.

ICBA President and CEO Rebecca Romero Rainey said that Congress's original intention was not to support the use of national trust licenses as a "side door" for cryptocurrency companies seeking federal bank legitimacy but lacking equivalent supervision to enter the banking system.

Crypto-trust bank approval process faces review

The lawsuit targets the OCC's broader framework for approving National Trust Banks. According to the ICBA, 21 such banks have been approved or conditionally approved, including 13 institutions with direct links to the cryptocurrency space. The complaint documents specifically pointed out the OCC's approval process for Protego, a digital asset trust entity, and sought to prevent the agency from approving similar licenses under the controversial framework.

National Trust Bank can operate without federal deposit insurance and generally does not provide traditional deposit or loan services. The ICBA believes this allows cryptocurrency companies holding such licenses to circumvent several regulatory requirements that apply to insured deposit-taking institutions, including capital levels, liquidity standards, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and comprehensive regulatory rules.

相比之下，OCC坚持认为，国家信托银行拥有长期以来的权力，可以将非受托活动作为其信托公司业务的一部分，并以托管和保管为例证。

这场法律斗争预计将集中在《国民银行法》第27(a)条在多大程度上允许OCC特许设立信托银行，以及哪些活动可被视为与信托公司业务密切相关。

大型数字资产公司与监管扩张

这场监管冲突 coincides with 主要数字资产公司对获得国家信托牌照兴趣日益浓厚。OCC记录显示，领先的美国加密货币交易所Coinbase的子公司Coinbase National Trust Company于2026年4月获得了信托牌照决定。其他与公司相关的稳定币发行商Circle等机构也在追求信托结构，以便在联邦监管伞下提供托管、结算和数字资产支付服务。

National trust licenses do not require institutions to accept deposits or issue traditional loans. However, the ICBA asserted that federal licenses give cryptocurrency companies a market advantage and may confuse customers into believing that these institutions enjoy the protection provided by insured deposit banks.

The OCC declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

Small Dictionary: The OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) is an independent bureau under the U.S. Department of the Treasury that charters the establishment, supervision and supervision of the National Bank and the Federal Reserve Institute.

The World Liberty Trust and the SEC add complexity to the debate

The OCC in August approved a conditional license for the World Liberty Trust Company related to World Liberty Financial and the Trump family's crypto project, further drawing attention to the issue. The agency is designed to support stablecoins and digital asset services rather than traditional banking.

According to ICBA, this trend shows that more and more national trust licenses are driving infrastructure construction around stablecoins, digital asset custody and payments. The group believes the situation highlights a broader legal issue of whether federal authorities have the authority to authorize Digital Asset Corporation to serve as a national trust bank.

与此同时，随着证券交易委员会（SEC）最近提出针对注册投资顾问和受监管基金的加密货币新托管规则，监管格局继续发生变化。SEC于10月1日提出的提案将在某些情况下允许加密货币自我托管，并允许符合特定标准的州级特许信托公司充当托管人。

SEC认为，拟议的规则将为加密货币资产的托管创造更清晰的监管环境，并使要求与该资产类别的扩展更好地保持一致。

这些平行发展反映了对加密货币如何整合到美国金融监管中的持续疑问，SEC和OCC分别侧重于监督的不同方面。

对行业及未来牌照申请人的影响

ICBA诉讼的结果可能决定OCC在向业务范围超出传统受托服务的数字资产企业授予国家信托牌照时保留多少灵活性。它还将测试该机构在联邦法院的2021年解释和2026年最终规则。

如果法院站在ICBA一边，加密货币交易所、稳定币项目、托管人和其他数字资产企业在寻求联邦信托银行地位时可能会面临新的挑战。对于更广泛的数字资产行业而言，此案标志着对加密货币商业模式如何融入既定银行监管的重要考验。

For community banks, the lawsuit raises the question of whether companies operating special licenses should be subject to the same regulatory standards and consumer protections as traditional insured deposit entities.