Stripe’s Bridge applies for national trust charter

Core Insights - Bridge, a stablecoin firm acquired by Stripe, has applied for a national bank trust charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) [1] - The application is part of a growing trend among cryptocurrency firms seeking charters under the recently established Genius Act, which provides a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins [2] - A successful application would allow Bridge to offer custody, stablecoin issuance, and management of stablecoin reserves, but it would not permit lending or taking insured deposits [3] Industry Context - The Genius Act, passed in June, has prompted several firms, including Circle, Paxos, Ripple, and Coinbase, to apply for trust charters with the OCC [2] - Anchorage Digital is currently the only crypto-native bank chartered by the OCC, highlighting the emerging regulatory landscape for stablecoins [4] - The stablecoin sector is at a "major inflection point," indicating a shift towards federal recognition of digital dollar infrastructure [5] Regulatory Challenges - There is opposition from bank industry trade groups against crypto firms obtaining national trust charters, with calls to postpone decisions on these applications [6] - The OCC has not granted any national trust charters this year, reflecting ongoing regulatory scrutiny [6]