Sen. Warren Accuses OCC of Granting Illegal Charters to Coinbase, Ripple and Others
Senator Elizabeth Warren has demanded records from the OCC by June 1 over claims that national trust charters were granted illegally to Coinbase, Ripple
Summary
- Senator Elizabeth Warren has demanded records from the OCC by June 1 over claims that national trust charters were granted illegally to Coinbase, Ripple and other crypto firms.
- The accusations center on at least nine charter approvals issued to crypto affiliates, including Paxos, under OCC head Jonathan Gould.
- A separate multi-chain exploit hit THORChain on May 15 2026 and caused roughly $10 million in losses without affecting user funds.
Senator Elizabeth Warren accused the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of breaking banking laws. She targeted the agency's approval of national trust charters for Coinbase, Ripple, and other crypto firms on June 1, 2026. Warren sent a formal records demand and set a same-day deadline for a reply.
This step questions the legal grounds for giving federal banking perks to digital asset companies.
Context
Crypto firms have chased national trust charters for years. They want direct access to federal payment systems and correspondent banking networks. The OCC explored limited-purpose charters for fintech and crypto players under earlier leadership.
That created lasting debate over the agency's statutory authority. Warren's latest move builds on that record. She now asks whether these approvals stretch the OCC's mandate too far.
Details
Reports show the OCC approved charters for Coinbase, Ripple, Paxos, and seven other crypto affiliates. Jonathan Gould at the OCC faces direct questions about whether these entities qualify under current banking statutes. Sources including Bitcoin.com and Bloomberg report that Warren labeled the grants unlawful.
"The OCC has no authority to grant these charters to crypto entities."
, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (news.bitcoin.com)
THORChain suffered a multi-chain exploit on May 15, 2026. A GG20 TSS vulnerability triggered the attack. Losses reached roughly $10 million, though investigators confirmed no user funds were taken.
The incident unfolded amid wider regulatory scrutiny of crypto infrastructure.
Outlook
Lawmakers will keep probing the reach of federal banking oversight. Crypto firms should expect closer review of any future OCC charter bids.
