Community Bankers Sue OCC Over Crypto Charters

The Independent Community Bankers of America sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Oct. 2, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. ICBA, representing banks with less than $10 billion in assets, challenges the OCC's March 2026 final rule on national trust bank charters, Interpretive Letter No. 1176, and Protego Holdings Corp.'s conditional charter approval, and asks the court to vacate those actions. ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said Congress did not create the national trust charter as a side door for crypto firms seeking federal bank charter credibility, and that digital assets at such firms lack the federal protections consumers expect. An OCC spokesperson said the agency does not comment on litigation. In February 2026 the OCC approved trust-bank charters for Stripe's Bridge, Protego, and Foris DAX National Trust Bank. World Liberty Financial, partly owned by President Donald Trump and his family, received charter approval; Senator Elizabeth Warren posted on X that it was giving him and his family a new way to profit. National trust banks that do not accept deposits generally lack FDIC-insured deposits. The case is pending.