Rain is applying for a US trust bank charter, the company confirmed this week. The move comes just days after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was sued over the rules that make such charters possible for crypto firms. Community banks are behind the lawsuit, asking a court to overturn the OCC framework they say gives crypto companies an unfair path into the federal banking system.
Why Rain wants a trust charter
A trust charter would put Rain under federal supervision while letting it operate across state lines without piecing together a patchwork of state licenses. That's the appeal for crypto firms. It's also what community banks hate about it.
Rain isn't alone. The company is one of multiple crypto firms in a growing queue seeking federal trust charters, according to the facts. The OCC has been processing these applications even as the legal challenge against its rules plays out.
The lawsuit that landed first
Community banks asked a court to overturn the OCC rules that underpin crypto trust charters. Their argument is straightforward: these charters give crypto firms banking powers without the same regulatory burden community banks carry. The timing is awkward for Rain. Filing days after the lawsuit means its application is now part of a fight it didn't start.
The OCC hasn't backed off. It's still accepting and reviewing applications, which suggests the agency doesn't see the lawsuit as a reason to freeze the process.
A queue, not a one-off
Rain is one of several crypto firms lining up for trust charters. That's a shift worth noting. For years, crypto companies avoided federal banking regulators and stuck to state money transmitter licenses. Now they're volunteering for federal oversight — or at least the version of it a trust charter provides.
Whether that queue keeps growing depends on how the lawsuit resolves. If the court sides with community banks, the OCC rules could be struck down and the path Rain is walking could close. If the OCC wins, expect more applications.
For now, Rain's filing sits in the stack. The OCC hasn't said when it will rule on it, and the court hasn't set a timeline for the challenge to the underlying rules.
