Ripple Labs (XRP) has applied for a national banking license with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The firm filed its application Wednesday and is looking to join the rush of crypto platforms entering mainstream finance, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Being granted a national trust bank charter would also place Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin within the OCC’s remit. Ripple would likely also consider offering other crypto services through its banking license if approved. “The dual nature of that regulation would basically have set a new bar for transparency and compliance in the stablecoin market,” said Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple.
Presently, crypto custodian Anchorage Digital is the only digital-currency firm in the country with a federal bank charter. Circle, the USDC stablecoin issuer, also recently applied for a national bank charter. While Ripple boasts a far smaller market cap than those two, its popularity in the crypto sector has exploded in the past two years, in part thanks to its high-profile case against the SEC.
Also Read: Will XRP Be Affected by the SEC-Ripple Lawsuit?
According to the WSJ, separately, Ripple subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust Company applied for a Federal Reserve master account on Monday. If granted, the account would allow Ripple to custody the reserves directly with the Fed, and issue and redeem stablecoins outside of normal banking hours.
Ripple’s native XRP cryptocurrency is up on Wednesday following the platform’s US banking license application. In the last 24 hours, the altcoin is up nearly 4%.
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