Community bankers sue OCC over crypto trust charters

The banking industry’s long cold war with crypto just moved into a courtroom. On October 2, 2026, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The target is an OCC rule that lets companies doing non-fiduciary work, including digital asset activities, obtain national trust bank charters. What the lawsuit challenges The rule at the center of the fight is a final rule the OCC issued on March 2, 2026. It created a path to national trust bank charters for entities whose business is not strictly fiduciary in nature. The OCC’s rule widened the lane to include non-fiduciary custody arrangements. Holding assets for safekeeping without the broader fiduciary role now fits under the same umbrella. ICBA argues this goes beyond what the National Bank Act allows. In the group’s view, the OCC effectively rewrote its own job description without permission from Congress. The complaint also contends the new charters let firms skip obligations that apply to traditional banks. ICBA specifically points to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and FDIC insurance. A big part of the complai...