From CoinDesk · By Olivier Acuna
Rain has applied for an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency charter to create a national trust bank that would custody digital assets and dollars and manage stablecoin reserves, issuance and redemptions for institutional clients.
The proposed bank would not accept deposits, make commercial loans, offer consumer accounts or carry FDIC insurance, and Rain said client assets would be segregated from the bank’s own holdings.
The application, which is subject to regulatory approval and public comment, comes as community banks challenge the OCC’s authority to grant trust charters to crypto companies that do not provide traditional banking services.
Stablecoin payments company Rain is the latest crypto company to seek an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) trust-bank charter, joining a growing group of firms trying to bring custody and stablecoin operations under federal supervision.
TheRain National Trust bank, a proposed New York subsidiary, would provide fiduciary custody of digital assets and U.S. dollars, manage reserves for permitted stablecoin issuers and issue and redeem dollar-backed stablecoins for institutional clients.
The application is part of a broader rush for limited-purpose national trust-bank charters. Circle, Ripple, BitGo and Fidelity were among five crypto firms to receive initial OCC approvals in December. Circle secured final OCC approval to operate its own federal trust bank in late July in New York.
National trust banks are authorized to provide users with custody and fiduciary services but do not accept consumer deposits or make loans like traditional commercial banks.
That means relying less on third parties to hold customers’ assets, administer stablecoin reserves and handle issuance and redemptions. Rain's proposed trust bank would not accept deposits, make commercial loans or offer consumer accounts, and it would not have FDIC insurance.
Assets held for clients would be segregated from the bank’s own assets, Rain said. Stablecoin reserves held by the proposed bank would be lent, pledged or reused.
The OCC charter route has drawn opposition from traditional banks across the United States. The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) sued the OCC last week, arguing that the agency lacks authority to grant national trust charters to crypto firms that do not offer traditional banking services. The ICBA said the structure gives crypto companies banking privileges without the same obligations that lenders face.
Rain’s application remains subject to OCC approval and a public-comment period.