Stripe's Bridge Gets Green Light to Become a National Trust Bank
Bridge, Stripe's stablecoin arm, scores conditional OCC approval to form a national trust bank for issuing stablecoins.
Bridge just leveled up. The stablecoin infrastructure company owned by payments giant Stripe has landed conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank.
That's a big deal. The approval would let Bridge directly issue and manage stablecoins under a federal banking charter — a significant regulatory milestone for any crypto-adjacent firm.
Bridge has been building out stablecoin plumbing since Stripe acquired it, and this move signals the company is pushing hard into regulated financial infrastructure rather than staying on the sidelines.
The approval is conditional, meaning Bridge still has hurdles to clear before it's fully operational as a trust bank. But getting the OCC's nod puts it ahead of most competitors in the race to bring stablecoins into the mainstream banking system.