Coinbase (COIN.US) obtains the license of National Bankshares, Inc. in the United States, and digital currency is becoming more regulated!

On April 2 (Thursday), Coinbase (COIN.US) officially announced that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate as a national trust bank. The company's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated that if granted final approval, this cryptocurrency exchange will be able to operate not only custody business under federal regulation but also payment products. "In the long run, we will explore with the OCC to not only offer custody products but also develop other infrastructure products - especially in the payment field. We believe this will drive the expansion and extension of cryptocurrency payments in various new, interesting, and important directions," said Grewal. The company also stated that it will not become a commercial bank, will not accept retail deposits, and will not engage in fractional reserve banking - a practice where large banks only keep a small portion of customer deposits as reserves and use the rest for lending. However, the trust charter will grant it legal authority, access to banking infrastructure, and regulatory credibility, allowing it to efficiently transfer, hold, and settle funds. It is worth noting that this approval is a preliminary agreement, indicating that Coinbase's application has met key regulatory requirements but must meet specific conditions to truly operate as a trust bank. This key license acquisition marks Coinbase's successful transition from relying on a fragmented state-by-state licensing regulatory model to a unified federal regulatory framework. While the trust charter does not allow for traditional retail deposits and fractional reserve lending, it gives Coinbase the legal position to efficiently move, hold, and settle funds nationwide, clearing legal obstacles for its in-depth involvement in institutional payment and settlement business. Grewal stated that this "has been the only viable way so far," implying President Donald Trump's promise in his second term to make the United States the "world capital of cryptocurrency." The previous Biden administration was known for its anti-cryptocurrency stance, which the industry believes hindered the industry's growth and its leadership position on the global stage. "If we didn't think there were significant opportunities in crypto infrastructure, including payments, we wouldn't be doing this work. The OCC's conditional approval is a significant recognition of the development of crypto infrastructure, showing that they want to see these products and services, especially in the area of payments and custody, first develop domestically in the United States," Grewal said. Simultaneously obtaining a federal license, Coinbase is deeply involved in the legislative game in Washington regarding the "CLARITY Act," which aims to clarify the basic framework of the crypto market. Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal recently revealed that a final agreement on the act is nearing. The core of the current negotiations focuses on defining the compliance of stablecoin yields, as traditional banks, fearing the attraction of stablecoins leading to deposit outflows, are attempting to restrict rewards provided by exchanges. For Coinbase, establishing the compliance status of USDC (the stablecoin developed in partnership with Circle) through legislative action is a necessary prerequisite to achieve its goal of making USDC surpass USDT as the world's preferred stablecoin. Last year, the company launched Coinbase Payments for platforms and merchants, integrating wallet functionality and supporting stablecoin settlement; it also partnered with Shopify to launch a payment protocol based on its own blockchain Base. Additionally, through partnerships with Shopify and Stripe, its merchant partners can accept payments in USDC stablecoin. CEO Brian Armstrong of Coinbase World also stated that the company has a "challenging goal," which is to make USDC the number one stablecoin globally, a position currently held by Tether's USDT. He also stated that the goal is to establish Coinbase as the "number one global financial services application" in the coming years. These actions are not isolated domestic expansions but an extension of Coinbase's global compliance strategy. As early as June 2025, Coinbase had already obtained the European Union Crypto Asset Markets Act (MiCA) license issued by Luxembourg, becoming the first US exchange with unified operating rights in all 27 EU countries, and establishing Luxembourg as its EU headquarters. In the current context of the US administration's increasingly friendly attitude towards cryptocurrency, Coinbase is trying to gain a competitive edge against financial technology giants like PayPal (PYPL.US) and Block (XYZ.US) through federal licenses and international compliance. With companies like Circle (CRCL.US) and Ripple also obtaining similar OCC licenses, a compliant stablecoin market backed by federal regulation is rapidly taking shape.