The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on September 18, 2026, granted preliminary conditional approval for proposed national trust banks Agora and Catena and conditionally approved Bastion Platforms Trust Company’s conversion to a national trust bank. The decisions put all three digital-asset-focused institutions on a federal charter path, but none can commence business until it meets OCC preopening requirements.
OCC grants three preliminary conditional trust-bank approvals
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for Agora National Trust Bank, proposed in New York, and Catena Trust Bank, National Association, a wholly owned subsidiary of Catena Labs. Agora’s planned business includes stablecoin issuance and reserve maintenance, digital-asset custody, payments and settlement, and fiduciary investment advisory services for institutional customers; Catena’s proposal covers digital-asset custody, investment management, trust services and stablecoin-related activities.
The OCC also approved Bastion Platforms Trust Company’s conversion from a New York state trust company into a national trust bank. The same-day decisions cover two proposed federal institutions and one state-chartered firm seeking conversion to a federal national trust bank.
Stablecoin, custody and institutional services
All three business models include stablecoin-related activities and digital-asset custody, but their planned service mixes differ.
Agora plans payments and settlement alongside fiduciary investment advisory services for institutional customers.
Catena includes investment management and trust services.
Bastion’s listed activities include stablecoin issuance technology, reserve management, compliance services and fiduciary digital-asset custody; the approvals identify proposed activities rather than authorize immediate operations, and each institution must satisfy individualized preopening requirements before receiving final authorization to commence business, according to the agency’s charter decisions and interpretations page.
Preopening conditions remain
The OCC’s conditional approvals for Agora, Catena and Bastion require each institution to meet individualized preopening requirements covering capital, liquidity, governance, compliance and business plans before receiving final authorization to commence business, according to the agency’s charter decisions and interpretations page.
Until then, none of the three may begin operations as a national trust bank.
