Crypto Firms Step Up Efforts To Join Fed System and Gain Bank Status

• Ripple has applied for a national trust bank charter from the OCC to bring its RLUSD stablecoin under federal oversight.
• The firm has also applied for a Federal Reserve master account—an elite form of access to U.S. payment infrastructure.
• Peter Thiel backed a new digital-first bank called Erebor, which applied for a national bank charter.

As stablecoin legislation inches closer in Washington, crypto firms are already making moves to position themselves inside the U.S. financial system.

Rather than wait for new rules to pass, companies like Ripple and Erebor are applying for bank licenses and elite access to the Federal Reserve, hoping to shape the next generation of regulated digital finance.

Ripple Moves To Bring Stablecoin Under Federal Oversight

Ripple has filed for a national banking license with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), aiming to bring its RLUSD stablecoin under federal jurisdiction.

Currently overseen by New York regulators, RLUSD would fall under dual supervision if the charter is approved, boosting transparency and compliance, according to Ripple’s SVP of stablecoins, Jack McDonald.

With Congress debating the Genius Act, which could require stablecoin issuers to be federally chartered, Ripple’s move looks like a strategic bet on the direction of regulation.

Only one other crypto-native firm, Anchorage Digital, currently holds a national charter. Circle, the issuer of USDC, has also filed for one.

Fed Access Could Give Ripple 24/7 Settlement Power

Alongside the OCC filing, Ripple’s subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust has applied for a Federal Reserve master account, a rare and powerful form of access that would allow direct settlement and real-time stablecoin issuance.

One banking attorney described the master account as the “Diamond tier” of U.S. finance, sitting above even national charters.

It grants the ability to clear payments directly with the Fed, something few institutions—let alone crypto firms—have achieved.

So far, the Fed has been reluctant to approve such access for crypto firms and is currently fighting a lawsuit from Custodia Bank over a denied application.

Peter Thiel-Backed Erebor Also Eyes Crypto-Finance Future

Ripple isn’t the only firm making a play for banking status.

Erebor, a new startup bank backed by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and 8VC co-founder Joe Lonsdale, has also filed for a national bank charter.

Led by Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, Erebor is pitching itself as a next-generation financial institution for startups in crypto, AI, defense, and manufacturing, especially those left underserved after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The bank plans to support stablecoin infrastructure and offer a mix of traditional and crypto-native services. Erebor also aims to be “the most regulated entity” in the space, according to its founders.

Its name, taken from Tolkien’s Lonely Mountain, signals big ambitions to rebuild a key part of the financial system for the U.S. innovation economy.