OpenReserve Bank receives preliminary OCC approval for blockchain-based national bank charter

OpenReserve Bank, a blockchain-based startup led by MoneyLion co-founder Dee Choubey, has received preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a full national bank charter. Backed by prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Jump Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, the Salt Lake City-based firm plans to offer 24/7 institutional treasury management, stablecoin issuance, and tokenized deposits. The approval reflects a broader push by the Trump administration and OCC chief Jonathan Gould to integrate digital asset businesses into the regulated federal banking system.

OCC preliminary charter approval

• ▪OpenReserve Bank submitted its charter application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in April 2026.
• ▪The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for a national bank charter to OpenReserve Bank, according to an OCC letter dated September 2, 2026.

Full national bank charter

• ▪OpenReserve Bank was co-founded and is led by Chief Executive Officer Dee Choubey, a former executive and co-founder of fintech firm MoneyLion.
• ▪OpenReserve Bank is backed by venture capital and crypto investors including Andreessen Horowitz's main crypto fund a16z, Jump Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Acrew, Clocktower, Quona, AAF Management, and Zero Knowledge Ventures.
• ▪OpenReserve Bank chose to pursue a full national bank charter rather than a trust company charter to establish a full-service national bank with embedded onchain settlement.

Institutional treasury management

• ▪OpenReserve Bank designed its services to comply with the inbound regulations of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.
• ▪OpenReserve Bank is built to serve institutional customers across treasury management, stablecoin issuance, and tokenized deposits.

Trump administration crypto policy

• ▪The administration of President Donald Trump, including appointed Office of the Comptroller of the Currency chief Jonathan Gould, has actively welcomed digital assets businesses into the regulated banking sphere.
• ▪The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved a conditional banking charter for British fintech operation Revolut to conduct business from Connecticut on September 3, 2026.

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