Stripe processes over a trillion dollars in payments every year. When a company of that scale decides to enter crypto-native banking, the industry takes notice.
Stripe-owned Bridge just received conditional approval from the OCC for a national bank charter—and that’s a big deal for the future of crypto payments.
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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional approval for Bridge to operate as a national trust bank.
This isn’t just another crypto company getting a license. It’s a major fintech player with serious regulatory backing entering the crypto banking space.
Bridge has received OCC conditional approval to organize a federally chartered national trust bank. This will enable us to operate stablecoin products and services under direct federal oversight, including:
– Custody
– Orchestration
– Issuance
– Reserves managementStablecoins…
— Bridge (@Stablecoin) February 17, 2026
What Bridge brings to the table
Bridge, acquired by Stripe in 2024, is a crypto-native payments platform that enables businesses to accept and process cryptocurrency payments.
The national bank charter will allow Bridge to offer a broader range of banking services, including custody, settlement, and potentially lending—all within a regulated framework. The significance here is hard to overstate.
Stripe is already embedded in the global payments infrastructure. Millions of businesses use Stripe to process payments.
Now those businesses will have a regulated path to integrate crypto payments through a platform they already trust.
Solving crypto’s adoption challenge
This could solve one of crypto’s biggest adoption challenges: the gap between traditional finance and digital assets.
Most businesses want to accept crypto, but they don’t want to deal with the regulatory uncertainty, custody challenges, and technical complexity.
Bridge, with its OCC charter and Stripe backing, offers a solution. The competitive implications are substantial. Coinbase, Kraken, and other crypto-native platforms have been building institutional businesses for years.
Now they’re facing competition from one of the most trusted names in fintech—with full regulatory approval.
Stripe’s entry also signals something important about where crypto is headed. The company didn’t buy Bridge on a whim.
It made a strategic bet that crypto payments would become a significant part of the future of commerce. The OCC approval validates that bet.
What this means for the ecosystem
For businesses, this means easier crypto integration. For consumers, it means more places to spend crypto.
For the industry, it means another major player with the resources and regulatory backing to drive adoption.
The charter is conditional, meaning Bridge will need to meet ongoing requirements. But the approval itself is a milestone.
It shows that regulators are willing to work with crypto companies that meet traditional banking standards—and that major fintech players see crypto as a serious business opportunity.
Stripe’s crypto future
Stripe’s crypto banking ambitions just became very real. The payments giant is betting that the future of money includes digital assets.
With OCC approval in hand, it’s now positioned to make that future happen.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
📅 Published: February 19, 2026 • 🕓 Last updated: February 19, 2026
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