Rain seeks national trust bank charter for stablecoin operations

Stablecoin payments company Rain has applied for an OCC national trust bank charter to launch Rain National Trust, a New York subsidiary that would custody digital assets and dollars, manage stablecoin reserves and issue and redeem dollar-backed tokens for institutional clients. Rain is the 12th crypto firm to pursue the charter route, following initial OCC approvals for Circle, Ripple, BitGo and Fidelity.

The proposed bank would not accept deposits, make commercial loans, offer consumer accounts or carry FDIC insurance, and Rain says client assets would be segregated from the bank's own holdings. The application is subject to OCC approval and a public-comment period.

The filing comes as the Independent Community Bankers of America sues the OCC over its authority to grant trust charters to crypto firms that don't offer traditional banking services, which Rain argues would let it rely less on third-party banks for custody, reserve administration and issuance.