Ripple, the American blockchain and digital payments company, has taken a major step forward in the United States financial system.

On 12 December 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted conditional approval for Ripple to set up a national trust bank called Ripple National Trust Bank. This means Ripple has passed an important regulatory milestone that allows it to become a federally supervised trust bank.

This approval is conditional, which means Ripple must still meet certain requirements before the bank can start full operations. The licence will let the company operate under federal banking rules, offering services like digital asset custody and managing reserves for its stablecoin RLUSD.

Ripple is not the only company to receive this approval. Other crypto-focused firms, such as Circle, BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets, also received similar conditional charters from the OCC.

Because Ripple’s bank will be supervised by both federal and state regulators — including the New York Department of Financial Services — it marks a noteworthy step towards more regulatory oversight and trust in the digital asset space.

However, the new trust bank cannot take deposits or offer regular savings accounts like a traditional high-street bank. The approvals are focused on digital asset and trust services, not full banking functions.

Commentators say this development reflects growing acceptance of digital assets within the regulated financial system, but final approval and full operations are still pending until Ripple meets all regulatory conditions.