Ripple Takes a Run at a U.S. Banking License
Ripple’s making a serious play for legitimacy in traditional finance. The company just filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national banking charter. If approved, it’d mark a pretty big shift—from a crypto-focused firm to something closer to a full-blown bank.
San Francisco-based Ripple’s been around for years, but this feels different. Maybe it’s the timing, or maybe they’re just tired of regulatory gray areas. Either way, grabbing a federal charter would put them in rare company.
Why Now?
A lot of this seems tied to their stablecoin, RLUSD. It’s already got the green light from New York’s tough financial watchdog, the NYDFS, which isn’t easy. The coin’s sitting at around $440 million in market value, and demand looks solid—14 million new tokens were minted just this week.
But federal oversight? That’s another level. Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, tweeted that dual regulation (state and federal) could set a “new benchmark for trust” in stablecoins. He’s not wrong. Banks don’t mess around with compliance, and if Ripple can match that, it might ease some nerves for big-money clients.
Still, it’s a gamble. Banking rules aren’t exactly crypto-friendly, and the OCC doesn’t hand out charters like candy.
Not the Only One
Ripple’s not alone here. Circle, the folks behind USDC, applied for a similar charter recently. Coinbase and Paxos have hinted at it too. Even Anchorage Digital snagged one last year, though they’re still the only crypto firm to pull it off so far.
It’s starting to look like a trend—crypto companies wanting the same rules as banks. Whether that’s smart or just survival depends on who you ask. Regulators might like the transparency, but it could also mean tighter controls.
XRP’s Quiet Climb
While all this plays out, XRP—Ripple’s original token—has been inching up. It’s trading around $2.25, up a few percent this week. Not a moonshot, but steady.
More interesting? A whale wallet keeps loading up. Three buys on Bithumb this week added another 14,000 XRP to a stash already worth billions. That’s either confidence or a very expensive gamble.
Either way, Ripple’s betting big on playing by the rules. Whether that pays off? Well, that’s the question.
