Advocacy group pushes back on banks’ lawsuit against OCC over charters

The Crypto Council for Innovation publicly backed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s recent approvals and conditional approvals of national trust charters for several cryptocurrency firms, characterizing legal action from community bankers as an attempt to impede payments innovation. CCI CEO Ji Hun Kim said the Independent Community Bankers of America’s lawsuit was aimed at resisting national trust charters and competition within financial services.

The ICBA filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contending the OCC authorized bank charters for certain entities without the safeguards and regulatory obligations that typically apply to banks. ICBA president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey argued that Congress did not intend the national trust charter to serve as a "side door" for crypto firms to obtain federal bank credibility while avoiding Community Reinvestment Act duties, consolidated supervision, capital and liquidity standards, and FDIC insurance requirements.

CCI pushed back on those claims, saying the organization remains confident in the OCC’s charter approvals and conditional approvals. The dispute follows a series of charter decisions that have drawn scrutiny, particularly the approval tied to World Liberty Financial — a company co-founded by members of the Trump family that has faced probes over alleged links to United Arab Emirates royal families.

The contested approvals were made under the leadership of OCC head Jonathan Gould, a Trump administration appointee who has served in the role since July 2025. The conflict between the crypto industry’s advocacy groups and traditional banking associations now heads to federal court, with implications for how national trust charters will be applied to crypto firms and what supervisory conditions may be required.