Ripple applies for national banking license and Fed master account

Ripple is seeking a national banking charter in the United States, a move that would bring the crypto firm under both federal and state regulatory oversight.

In a post published Wednesday on X, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed that the company has formally applied for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The application, which has already been acknowledged by the regulator, is a major step for Ripple as it looks to deepen its role in the stablecoin sector through its U.S. dollar-backed RLUSD token. Garlinghouse also disclosed that Ripple has applied for a Federal Reserve master account via its subsidiary Standard Custody.

The account would improve settlement infrastructure and boost stablecoin backing security if it were approved, enabling Ripple to hold RLUSD reserves directly with the U.S. central bank.

With this access, Ripple would no longer need to rely on middle banks and would have direct access to the Fed’s payment rails. Ripple launched RLUSD in December 2024.

While still small compared to market leaders like Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), RLUSD has grown to a market value of around $470 million, according to DefiLlama data. The firm is currently regulated at the state level through the New York Department of Financial Services, but a national bank charter would give Ripple a unique dual oversight structure.

The application follows a similar move by Circle, which recently filed to create a national trust bank. Both companies are preparing for the implementation of the GENIUS Act, a federal bill that passed the Senate in May and proposes clear standards for stablecoin issuers. Under the bill, the OCC would be tasked with supervising larger dollar-pegged token providers.

As it seeks stronger regulatory status, Ripple continues to gain attention in financial markets. XRP (XRP), the native token tied to Ripple’s ecosystem, is up 4% over the past 24 hours. Trading volume climbed to $3.65 billion, a 38% daily increase. 

On the derivatives side, Coinglass data shows that open interest rose 8% to $4.5 billion and XRP futures saw a 29% increase in volume to $7.38 billion. The uptick in both trading and open positions reflects growing market attention amid Ripple’s regulatory push.