OCC Greenlights Five Digital Currency Banks in Blow to Operation Choke Point 2.0

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency delivered a watershed moment for crypto liquidity by approving five national digital currency banks. This move effectively dismantles the Biden administration's Operation Choke Point 2.0 policy that had systematically excluded crypto projects from banking services.

Among the newly chartered institutions are industry heavyweights: First National Digital Currency Bank, Ripple National Trust Bank, BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company. These join 60 existing trust bank charter holders in what Comptroller Jonathan Gould called "a necessary evolution to keep pace with modern finance."

The approvals mark a strategic pivot for US banking regulators. Where previous policies created artificial scarcity in crypto banking access, the OCC now appears to be fostering competition. "New entrants strengthen the system," Gould noted, signaling a potential thaw in the regulatory DEEP freeze that followed the Signature Bank collapse.