Revolut and OpenReserve have successfully secured preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form national banks within the United States. This milestone allows both fintech firms to move forward in the rigorous process of becoming federally chartered financial institutions. Critically, both organizations have explicitly stated that their US banking operations will focus on cryptocurrency and stablecoin-related services, providing a regulated bridge between traditional finance and digital assets.
The OCC’s decision highlights a growing regulatory openness to fintech-first companies that seek to modernize the American banking landscape. For Revolut, the London-based fintech giant, this represents a massive strategic leap into the U.S. market after years of navigating various state-level licenses. OpenReserve’s inclusion suggests a specific regulatory interest in firms that can provide transparent and compliant infrastructure for the stablecoin ecosystem, which has faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers over the past two years.
From a market perspective, this development is a significant step toward the institutionalization of digital assets. By operating under a national bank charter, these firms can potentially offer more robust custody solutions and seamless fiat-to-crypto gateways that carry the weight of federal oversight. This could increase consumer confidence and force incumbent US banks to rethink their conservative stance on digital asset integration or risk losing market share to these new, crypto-native competitors.
Moving forward, market participants should monitor the transition from "preliminary" to "final" approval, which will require Revolut and OpenReserve to meet strict capital requirements and compliance milestones. The specific products they launch—such as stablecoin issuance or high-yield crypto savings accounts—will likely set the tone for the next generation of US banking. Additionally, any changes in leadership at the OCC following upcoming elections could impact the finalization of these charters and the broader regulatory environment for crypto-linked banks.