Crypto Advocacy Group Pushes Back Against US Senator’s Claims on Companies’ OCC Charters
The Digital Chamber rejected Senator Warren’s claim that crypto firms are trying to evade banking rules through OCC charters. It said the companies sought federal oversight and complied with exam and supervision rules.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The Digital Chamber says Warren misreads banking law and that the firms applying for OCC charters did so voluntarily to get federal oversight. The dispute lands amid broader scrutiny of crypto-related charter approvals and pending applications from World Liberty Financial and Kraken’s parent.
A crypto group and a US senator are arguing about whether some crypto companies should get special banking permission. The senator says the regulator may have gone too far.
The crypto group says the companies asked for the rules on purpose, like a store asking for a safety inspection. It says they wanted federal oversight, not a free pass.
The bigger issue is whether crypto companies can become more like banks without breaking the law. That decision could affect many companies that want to work with money in a more official way.
Analysis
What happened
The Digital Chamber, a crypto advocacy group, pushed back on Senator Elizabeth Warren’s criticism of OCC charter approvals for several digital asset companies. In a letter to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, CEO Cody Carbone argued that Warren’s reading of the law was wrong and that the companies were not trying to evade oversight.
According to the article, Warren had said the OCC may have violated the National Bank Act by approving national trust charters for nine crypto-related firms, including Coinbase, Crypto.com’s parent, Ripple, Stripe, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Protego Holdings and Paxos. She also suggested the approvals could reflect White House influence.
The Digital Chamber’s response is that these firms asked for federal supervision themselves. Carbone said they applied for national trust bank charters, accepted OCC examination authority, and agreed to the compliance duties that come with federal oversight. He added that if Warren believes the OCC overstepped, she should point to the exact statutory line that was crossed rather than rely on political criticism.
Why it matters
The fight is about more than one set of applications. It is also about whether crypto firms can use bank-style charters to operate under clearer federal rules, and whether regulators will keep granting those charters under political pressure.
The story also notes that the OCC is still reviewing other digital asset applications, including World Liberty Financial and Payward, the parent of Kraken. Warren has separately urged the OCC to delay the World Liberty review until Trump divests from the platform, citing conflict concerns. The article says the OCC listed 14 digital asset companies with licensing applications as of Tuesday.
Key points
- The Digital Chamber said Senator Warren misunderstood how banking laws apply to crypto firms.
- Cody Carbone argued the companies voluntarily sought federal oversight through national trust charters.
- Warren said the OCC may have violated the National Bank Act by approving charters for nine crypto-related firms.
- The dispute comes as the OCC is also reviewing other digital asset applications, including World Liberty Financial and Kraken’s parent, Payward.
- Cointelegraph said it did not receive an immediate response from Warren’s office.
