XRP Stalls Despite Ripple’s OCC Win – Here’s The Institutional Catch

Core Insights - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has conditionally approved national trust bank charters for five digital asset firms, including Ripple, Circle, and Fidelity Digital Assets, integrating them into the federal banking system [1] - This approval allows these firms direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment systems and limits state-level oversight [1] Regulatory Developments - The approvals represent the first expansion of federal crypto banking charters since Anchorage Digital's approval in 2021 [3] - The OCC's decision follows the enactment of the 'GENIUS Act', which established a federal framework for the $314 billion stablecoin market [4] - The OCC also released Interpretive Letter 1188, allowing national banks to trade crypto assets on a "riskless principal" basis [4] Market Reaction - Following the approvals, XRP showed no immediate volatility, indicating that traders had already priced in the approval after the GENIUS Act's passage [5] - Circle's CEO noted that the charter enhances the firm's ability to settle USDC directly via the Federal Reserve, avoiding commercial bank intermediaries [5] Institutional Impact - The national charters secured by Circle and Paxos mitigate "commercial bank counterparty risk," which previously caused the USDC depeg during the SVB collapse [6] - This development is expected to lead to 24/7 settlement finality via FedMaster accounts, widening the spread between onshore regulated stablecoins and offshore equivalents like USDT as institutions shift capital to Fed-integrated systems [6]