Sen. Elizabeth Warren fired off a letter to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Comptroller Jonathan Gould on Monday, accusing the agency of illegally handing out national trust charters to at least nine crypto companies. She named Coinbase and Ripple among the recipients and demanded complete records by June 1. The move escalates a long-running feud between Warren and federal banking regulators over crypto oversight.
What Warren is alleging
Warren’s letter claims the OCC has been granting these charters without proper legal authority, effectively letting crypto firms operate as trust banks while dodging stricter state-level oversight. She didn’t specify which law the OCC is violating, but the implication is clear: the agency overstepped its mandate. Warren wants internal communications, application materials, and any legal opinions that justified the approvals — all of it on her desk in two weeks.
Why trust charters matter
A national trust charter allows a company to offer custody, fiduciary, and other banking-like services without being a full commercial bank. For crypto firms, it’s a big deal: it can streamline operations across state lines and give legitimacy. But critics — and Warren is chief among them — argue the OCC’s interpretation of its authority is stretched thin. The senator has been hammering regulators on crypto risks for years, and this letter is her latest salvo.
The crypto firms caught up
Warren specifically called out Coinbase and Ripple by name. Coinbase has held an OCC trust charter since 2021, letting it offer custody for digital assets. Ripple got its charter in late 2023. The other seven companies weren’t named in the letter, but the implication is that any crypto firm that got a national trust charter under the current OCC framework could be in Warren’s crosshairs.
What happens next
The OCC has until June 1 to deliver the records. If it doesn’t, expect Warren to escalate — likely with subpoenas or public hearings. The agency hasn’t publicly responded yet, but the clock is ticking. For Coinbase and Ripple, the immediate risk is less about losing their charters tomorrow and more about the political fallout. Warren’s letter puts a bull’s-eye on the OCC’s crypto-friendly posture, and it could chill future charter applications.
