Ripple Labs has received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for setting up the Ripple National Trust Bank, thereby authorising it to manage reserves backing Ripple USD (RLUSD), the company’s dollar-backed Stablecoin, and provide digital asset custody services.
The approval follows conditional clearance granted in December 2025. The bank’s authorised activities include managing RLUSD’s segregated reserves, acting as collateral trustee for those reserves on behalf of Stablecoin holders, and providing fiduciary custody services for digital assets.
RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a limited-purpose trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The new bank will add federal OCC supervision to the regulatory framework supporting the Stablecoin.
What Will Ripple National Trust Bank Do?
Once operational, the bank will be authorised to provide fiduciary digital asset custody services alongside its role in managing RLUSD reserves.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the charter would support the company’s Stablecoin and institutional products across payments, custody, and capital markets. “A national trust charter gives us an even stronger foundation for RLUSD and the institutional products we are building across payments, custody, and capital markets,” Garlinghouse said in a statement.
RLUSD was launched in December 2024 and has a market capitalisation of $2.50 billion, according to a press release by Ripple. The Stablecoin is backed by dollar deposits, US government securities and other cash equivalents. Institutional bank BNY serves as its primary reserve custodian, while Ripple publishes monthly third-party attestations of its circulating supply and reserves.
What Does Ripple’s Bank Approval Mean For XRP?
The approval has also drawn attention to its potential implications on the price of XRP (Ripple’s cryptocurrency). Rajagopal Menon, vice-president of crypto exchange WazirX, said some positive sentiment may already be reflected in the token’s price following the conditional approval in December 2025.
“Ripple’s trust bank approval could support sentiment towards XRP by giving institutions more confidence in its regulated operations. Some of that expectation may already be reflected in the price, given the conditional approval in December 2025,” Menon said.
He added that a sustained price benefit would depend on greater institutional use of XRP for payments and settlement, alongside broader cryptocurrency market conditions.
Ashish Singhal, co-founder of crypto exchange CoinSwitch, said the approval could improve sentiment around XRP. However, “a sustained price rally will depend on actual token demand and XRP Ledger adoption.” He added that “growth in RLUSD and custody services does not automatically translate into XRP demand.”
