Bank Charter

SoFi Technolo

2026-09-19 14:28:39

SoFi Technologies secures bank charter as deposits reach $46 billion

SoFi Technologies has obtained a bank charter, with its deposit base rising to $46 billion, according to Techub News, citing Crypto Briefing. The update points to a notable step for the fintech company as it works to strengthen its financial footing. The report says the move is intended to improve SoFi’s financial stability and sharpen its competitive edge. It also notes that the bank charter should help the company better handle market volatility. No additional details were provided in the brief on the timing of the charter approval or the composition of the deposits. The report focuses on the charter and deposit growth as the key developments.

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OpenReserve

2026-09-09 02:00:00

OpenReserve raises $25 million led by a16z and moves to build an always-on bank

OpenReserve, a one-year-old company founded by MoneyLion veterans, has raised a $25 million seed round led by a16z crypto and secured preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter. The company wants to combine a full-service banking license with blockchain-based settlement, offering safeguarded deposits, lending, tokenized deposits, digital asset custody through a subsidiary, and stablecoin-based cross-border remittances for institutional and corporate clients. A key product is rUSD, or ReserveUSD, a planned compliant stablecoin to be issued by ReserveUSD, LLC on OpenReserve’s in-house Open Core platform, which the company says can settle a transaction in 950 milliseconds with ledger hash verification. Still, approval comes with steep conditions: OCC requires at least $210 million in paid-in capital within 12 months, launch within 18 months, and a minimum 12% leverage ratio for the first three years. With $25 million raised so far and more than $24 million already received according to an SEC Reg D filing, OpenReserve still needs another $185 million by September 2027.

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Block

2026-09-08 22:01:02

Block applies to OCC to launch a national trust bank for Bitcoin and stablecoin custody

Block, the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Tuesday to establish an uninsured national trust bank called Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. The company said that, if approved, the proposed bank would offer custody and other trust services for assets including Bitcoin and stablecoins. A federal charter would also create a federal regulatory framework for some of Block’s existing custody operations. The filing comes as more fintech and crypto firms pursue federal bank charters in the United States. Revolut received conditional approval from the OCC last week, while Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle had already secured approvals earlier. The OCC also recently granted conditional approval to World Liberty Financial, which is backed by the Trump family, a move that has drawn scrutiny in Washington over potential conflicts of interest. Since 2025, the OCC has received 40 applications for new bank charters, approving 21 and rejecting two.

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OpenReserve

2026-09-05 09:23:01

OpenReserve secures a16z backing and preliminary approval for a U.S. national bank charter

Blockchain banking startup OpenReserve has received investment from Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, and has also won preliminary approval for a U.S. national bank charter, according to a Techub report citing Cointelegraph. The company was founded by a team of former MoneyLion executives and is building what it describes as a blockchain-based bank designed to operate around the clock. The preliminary charter approval means OpenReserve can move toward offering compliant banking services on a nationwide basis in the United States. a16z, named as an investor in the project, is expected to support both regulatory progress and technology development. The update centers on two points: new funding from a major crypto-focused venture investor and an early regulatory green light tied to a national banking license. Together, those developments place OpenReserve in a position to keep advancing its blockchain banking model within a regulated U.S. framework.

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UAE

2026-08-28 10:33:10

UAE National Security Adviser Linked to 49% Stake in Trump Family Bank Charter Holding Company

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates national security adviser and brother of the country’s president, holds a 49% stake alongside co-investors in WLTC Holdings, the holding company created by World Liberty Financial to pursue a U.S. bank charter, according to a Thursday report from The Wall Street Journal. The paper said Tahnoon and the other investors took that position through a separate entity, StringZ Holding RSC. The report surfaced less than two weeks after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave World Liberty Trust Company, National Association preliminary approval to operate as a national trust bank. In its January application, World Liberty said the entity would manage stablecoin issuance and redemption, on-ramp and off-ramp services, and custody, with BitGo staying on as a partner. The Journal also said this is the second reported 49% position tied to Tahnoon in the Trump family’s crypto business, following an earlier report that a Tahnoon-backed vehicle agreed to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million in a deal signed four days before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. The investment has already drawn attention on Capitol Hill, with five Senate Democrats calling for hearings in June and Representative Ro Khanna opening a House investigation in February.

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Trump family

2026-08-24 09:31:28

Trump family wins preliminary approval for bank charter as World Liberty targets broader USD1 use

Members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s family and their business partners have received preliminary approval to start a bank, according to Bloomberg, putting the family one step closer to owning a banking institution of its own. The move comes during an unusually open period for charter applications, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, approving 22 bank charter applications in the first 19 months of Trump’s second term—more than the total approved over the previous five years. Bloomberg said many of the newly approved applicants come from fintech and digital asset sectors, a sharp change from the tighter post-2008 environment when charter approvals were rare and reviews often stretched for months or years. Under OCC head Jonathan Gould, the agency is aiming to respond to each application within 120 days. Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial has joined the latest wave of applicants alongside Circle, Nu Holdings Ltd., and Coinbase Global Inc. For World Liberty, the main goal is to expand the use of its dollar stablecoin, USD1. The company said earlier this month, after receiving conditional approval, that owning a bank would allow it to hold assets backing the stablecoin and reduce related costs. The report added that the current approval window may not last, especially with November’s midterm elections approaching.

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Policy Regula

2026-08-14 20:55:31

US regulators grant conditional approval to World Liberty Financial bank charter bid

US regulators have conditionally approved the bank charter application filed by World Liberty Financial, a project backed by Donald Trump, according to Techub News citing Cointelegraph. The decision does not amount to a full green light yet. It means the company may formally launch banking operations only after meeting specific regulatory requirements tied to the approval. The case has drawn market attention because of the Trump family’s prior deep involvement in the project. That political connection has made the licensing process more closely watched than a typical charter application. No additional details on the outstanding requirements were disclosed in the source item. The update was published by Techub as a short policy and regulation news brief.

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Circle

2026-08-05 10:29:38

Circle Jumps Nearly 6% in Premarket After Q2 Earnings; USDC Supply Up 19%, Arc Mainnet Set for Sept 16

BlockBeats reported on August 5 that Circle (CRCL) shares rose nearly 6% in US premarket trading, with the stock changing hands at $66.97. The advance followed the release of the company's second-quarter 2026 earnings report. Market data from BIT (Bit.com) showed the premarket gain expanding to around 6% after the financial results were published. As of the end of the second quarter, USDC circulation had reached $73.3 billion, a 19% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Circle's total revenue, including reserve income, totaled $701 million for the quarter, up 7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA also improved, rising 8% to $143 million. In addition to the financial metrics, Circle announced that its Arc mainnet will go live on September 16 and that it has obtained approval for a US federal trust bank charter. The news was carried by BlockBeats, with the premarket trading data supplied by BIT (Bit.com). The stock's reaction came in the wake of the earnings disclosure.

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