Stripe wins conditional OCC approval to form a bank… “expanding stablecoin business”

Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company owned by U.S. fintech Stripe, has cleared a key regulatory hurdle to establishing a bank.

Bridge said on the 17th (local time) that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank. Bridge explained that “once final approval is granted, we will be able to operate stablecoin products and services under direct federal supervision,” adding that “(upon final authorization) we will be able to provide companies with services including stablecoin issuance and operation, and reserve management.”

Bridge previously applied to regulators for a banking charter in October last year. Cointelegraph reported that “Bridge is one of the crypto companies seeking a national trust bank charter from the OCC after the passage of the GENIUS Act (the stablecoin law).”

Stripe earlier acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion (about 1.6 trillion won) in early last year. This is why observers say Stripe is moving to aggressively expand its stablecoin business through Bridge. Bridge said it is “already prepared to obtain GENIUS Act-related certification through our own compliance framework,” and added that it will “secure the regulatory foundation needed for large-scale stablecoin-based business by obtaining a banking charter.”