The Digital Chamber of Commerce is pushing back hard against Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claims that crypto companies pursuing national bank charters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are trying to sidestep oversight and create conflicts of interest. In a statement this week, the trade group argued that seeking an OCC charter is the opposite of evasion — it’s a bid for direct federal supervision, not a way to avoid it.
The accusation
Warren has been a vocal critic of crypto firms that apply for OCC trust charters or national bank charters. She argues that these companies, often already under scrutiny from state regulators, are shopping for a friendlier federal overseer. The senator has also flagged potential conflicts when firms that previously faced enforcement actions suddenly line up for OCC approval. Her office didn’t respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The defense
The Digital Chamber counters that OCC charters come with some of the strictest compliance requirements in banking. “Seeking a national charter means agreeing to regular exams, capital standards, and consumer protections that state regimes don’t always match,” the group said in its rebuttal. It also dismissed the conflict-of-interest charge as a misunderstanding: the application process is transparent, and the OCC reviews each firm on its own merit. The Chamber represents dozens of crypto companies, including exchanges, custodians, and lending platforms.
The OCC has been a key gateway for crypto firms wanting to offer traditional banking services — custody, payments, even insured deposits — without partnering with a legacy bank. But the agency has moved cautiously since a wave of charter applications in 2025. Warren’s criticism threatens to slow that pipeline further, especially as the Senate Banking Committee weighs new crypto oversight legislation. The Digital Chamber’s pushback is an attempt to keep the charter pathway open, arguing that it actually brings crypto under the same roof as Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan — just with digital assets on the balance sheet.
The fight isn’t new, but it’s heating up. A hearing on crypto bank charters is expected in the Senate next month. The Chamber says it will keep making the case that federal charters mean federal rules — and that’s exactly what critics say they want.
