Rain seeks US trust bank charter days after OCC sued over crypto charters

“The institutions building on Rain want the assets behind their programs held by a fiduciary that answers to a federal regulator,” Rain CEO and co-founder Farooq Malik said.

Rain joins a growing number of crypto and payments companies seeking national trust bank charters. Payments infrastructure company Modern Treasury also announced Monday it had submitted an application seeking approval to offer digital asset custody and related fiat services.

Community banks challenge OCC over crypto trust charters

However, the push has drawn opposition from community banks. On Friday, the Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC, alleging the regulator exceeded its authority by allowing non-depository trust banks to conduct extensive non-fiduciary activities.

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould.

The ICBA argued that the OCC’s National Bank Chartering final rule and an interpretive letter 1176, 2021, “perversely allow entities engaged in highly risky cryptocurrency and digital assets activities to enter the banking system under lightly regulated national charters rather than the more rigorously regulated traditional bank charter.”

ICBA said the framework gives crypto trust banks a competitive advantage by allowing them to offer services that overlap with community banks without facing the same regulatory obligations. It also alleged consumers could mistake the “national bank” designation for assurance that their assets are federally insured.

The group has asked the court to overturn OCC’s March 2026 chartering rule and 2021 interpretive letter, and prevent further charter approvals relying on them.

On Monday, Crypto Council for Innovation said the lawsuit was an attempt to stifle innovation.

According to the ICBA’s complaint, the OCC has approved or conditionally approved at least 21 trust banks, with at least 13 of them being crypto companies.