Stablecoin payments infrastructure provider Rain has filed an application to establish a national trust bank headquartered in New York, adding to a wave of crypto companies seeking bank charters over the past year.
Rain said this on Monday filed Application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for establishment of Rain National Trust Bank. If approved, the bank will be able to provide digital asset and US dollar fiduciary custody for institutional clients, provide reserve management for authorized stablecoin issuers, and issue dollar-backed stablecoins in accordance with the GENIUS Act.
Subject to OCC review, former Square Financial Services chief financial officer Brandon Soto will serve as president and CEO of the proposed National Trust Bank.
“Organizations built on Rain want resources behind their programs that answer to a federal regulator,” said Farooq Malik, CEO and co-founder of Rain.
Rain joins a growing number of crypto and payments companies seeking a national trust bank charter. Payment infrastructure company Modern Treasury also announced on Monday that it had submitted an application Seeking approval to offer digital asset custody and related fiat services
Community banks challenge OCC over crypto trust charters
However, the push has drawn opposition from community banks. On Friday, the Independent Community Bankers of America filed suit against the OCC, Complaints against the Controller The non-depository trust exceeded its authority by allowing banks to conduct extensive non-trust activities.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould.
ICBA argued that the OCC’s National Bank Chartering Final Rule and an Interpretive Letter 1176 of 2021, “allow entities engaged in high-risk cryptocurrency and digital asset activities to enter the banking system under a lightly regulated national charter rather than a more strictly regulated bank.”
Related: Bastion wins conditional OCC approval for National Trust Bank charter
ICBA said the framework gives crypto trust banks a competitive advantage by allowing them to offer services that overlap with community banks without facing the same regulatory obligations. It alleged that consumers could mistake the designation “national bank” for assurances that their assets were federally insured.
The group asked the court to strike down the OCC’s March 2026 chartering rule and 2021 interpretive letter and block further charter approvals that depend on them.
On Monday, the Crypto Council for Innovation said the lawsuit is a Trying to stop innovation.
According to ICBA’s complaint, the OCC has approved or conditionally approved at least 21 trust banks, including at least 13 crypto companies.
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