BPI Opposes OCC’s Proposed Approval of BitGo Trust Company’s Conversion to a National Trust Bank

Dear Mr. Astrada:

The Bank Policy Institute^[1] respectfully submits this comment in opposition to the conversion application submitted by BitGo Trust Company, Inc. ("Trust Bank") on July 14, 2025 (the "Application") to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeking approval to convert from a South Dakota State- chartered trust company to a national trust bank.^[2] As we describe in detail below, we have deep concerns that approval of the Application, whether alone or in conjunction with the similar applications recently filed, would: (i) exceed the scope of the OCC's authority under 12 U.S.C. 27(a), which limits national trust bank charters to institutions predominantly engaged in trust and fiduciary activities; (ii) permit the national trust bank charter to be used in a new and untested manner that could significantly increase risks to the U.S. financial system; and (iii) create an unlevel playing field that would harm traditional federal- and state-chartered banks and inhibit their ability to serve the credit needs of their communities.

We note at the outset that the public's ability to meaningfully comment on the Application is significantly limited by the fact that the OCC has not made any portions of the Application publicly available. In response to a Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request, we received only a cursory and superficial description of the Trust Bank and its proposed activities - literally no more than a few sentences. While we submit this comment based on the information available, we note that neither the Applicant nor the OCC has provided the public with adequate information to meaningfully assess or fully comment on Trust Bank's proposed activities or business plan or to consider any relevant legal or policy issues that may be presented by such activities. While the Application refers to a confidential business plan appended to the Application, which would provide helpful information, this information remains hidden from the public, even after we have requested the OCC disclose this information under the FOIA^[3] This lack of transparency is wholly inconsistent the present administration's explicit commitment to this principle.^[4]

As discussed in more detail below, the Application raises a host of important legal, regulatory, and policy questions and concerns that we urge the OCC to carefully evaluate and ensure are appropriately answered and addressed before any action is taken on the Application. In particular, we recommend that the OCC:

• Confirm that Trust Bank will not itself issue stablecoins;
• Confirm that Trust Bank will actually engage in fiduciary activities within the meaning of the relevant provisions of the National Bank Act, and that Trust Bank will be limited to fiduciary operations and activities related to those fiduciary operations;
• Confirm Trust Bank will not accept, hold in its name, or commingle with its own accounts (including in any master account it may maintain at a Federal Reserve Bank) the cash component of any stablecoin reserves for which it may act as trustee or custodian or any trust deposits it may accept;
• Confirm that Trust Bank will maintain sufficient capital (for example, by maintaining capital on at least a one-to-one basis with any funds it places with an insured depository institution ("IDI"));
• Consider whether Trust Bank's parent can adequately provide capital and liquidity support to Trust Bank, especially in light of the fact that it appears that Trust Bank's services will be provided predominantly to affiliates and concentrated within a single financial market segment, on which Trust Bank will be dependent for its revenues and profitability;
• Consider whether the OCC's procedures for resolving uninsured national trust banks provided in 12 CFR Part 51 would be adequate to protect customers, consumers, and the banking system in the event of Trust Bank's failure;

To read the full comment letter, click here, or click on the download button below.

[1] The Bank Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group that represents universal banks, regional banks and the major foreign banks doing business in the United States. The Institute produces academic research and analysis on regulatory and monetary policy topics, analyzes and comments on proposed regulations and represents the financial services industry with respect to cybersecurity, fraud and other information security issues.

[2] The Application appears to present similar issues raised by numerous other applications recently filed by affiliates of entities engaged primarily in activities related to digital assets, in response to which we have submitted similar comments.

[3] In response to our FOIA request, the OCC produced the public portions of the application and fully redacted the entirety of the substance of the application, including the confidential exhibits. Thus, the OCC has provided virtually no information regarding the proposed activities of Applicant.

[4] Approving the Application without affording the public visibility into Trust Bank's proposed activities would contravene President Trump's express mandates regarding transparency in government. As described in a White House announcement, "President Trump campaigned on a promise to return power back to the American people by 'cleaning out the Deep State.'" https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/doge/. Without greater transparency and solicitation of public input regarding the Application and the OCC's interpretation of its chartering authority, President Trump's promise would remain unfulfilled. Accordingly, we ask the OCC to release additional information to the public on Trust Bank's business plans, with only strictly necessary redactions, to provide the public the ability to scrutinize such information.