OCC Conditionally Approves National Trust Bank Charter for Crypto Firm Bastion

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted Bastion conditional approval on September 18 to operate as Bastion Platforms National Trust Company, a non-depository national trust bank focused on stablecoin services.

The approval, set out in Corporate Decision 1391, lets the stablecoin infrastructure firm convert its New York state trust charter into a federal one under OCC Charter #27198. The charter is not final: Bastion must still satisfy the OCC’s pre-opening requirements before the company can begin operating under it.

Under the charter, Bastion will offer stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure, payment clearing, minting, redemption and white-label stablecoin issuance from a single federally regulated entity. Those services also cover fiat conversions involving compliant digital assets such as USDC. As a non-depository institution, the company cannot accept deposits or make loans and carries no FDIC insurance.

Federal supervision sits on top of the state licenses Bastion already holds. The company acquired its New York limited-purpose trust charter in February 2025 through the purchase of Dibbs Trust Company.

Bastion CEO Nassim Eddequiouaq said in the company’s announcement that the charter is aimed at major financial institutions planning stablecoin products. “Stablecoins have moved from emerging technology into core financial infrastructure, and that requires a different standard of trust, governance and regulatory rigor,” Eddequiouaq said.

The OCC authorized conditional trust charters for two other firms, Catena and Agora, the same day.