Revolut, OpenReserve get preliminary US bank approval
Revolut OpenReserve get preliminary OCC approval to form US national banks, with both planning cryptocurrency and stablecoin-related services. The conditional decisions cover Revolut’s Connecticut proposal and OpenReserve’s Utah plan; neither bank can open until final OCC approval and preopening requirements are met.
According to decisions published Wednesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for Revolut to advance a proposed national bank in Connecticut and for OpenReserve to pursue one in Utah. Both companies intend to weave cryptocurrency and stablecoin services into their US banking strategies, a development tracked closely across Fintech & Crypto Alerts.
Cointelegraph reported that Revolut wants its own US bank to deliver services at lower cost and with greater efficiency than its current model, which relies on Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured partner banks. OpenReserve, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed crypto banking startup, is taking a parallel path toward a national-bank charter.
Key Takeaways
- Revolut and OpenReserve received preliminary conditional OCC approval to form US national banks.
- Revolut’s proposed bank is tied to Connecticut; OpenReserve’s is planned for Utah.
- Crypto custody, cross-border crypto transfers, tokenized deposits, and stablecoin plans feature in both strategies.
- Final OCC approval and preopening requirements still stand between the firms and an open bank.
- OpenReserve has not yet filed an application for its planned USD stablecoin subsidiary.
Why does this OCC approval matter for crypto banking?
A national-bank charter would give Revolut a direct US banking platform instead of routing activity through partner banks. The OCC said Revolut wants that shift to provide services at lower cost and with greater efficiency than its partner-bank model.
OpenReserve was founded in 2025 by MoneyLion founder and former CEO Dee Choubey. It is building a blockchain-based bank designed to offer traditional banking services alongside tokenized deposits and digital asset services, now with preliminary OCC backing to form a US national bank.
What crypto and stablecoin services are on the table?
Revolut plans digital asset custody and wants customers to use crypto assets, including stablecoins, for cross-border transfers. It also plans to offer Revolut-branded stablecoins issued by a third party.
OpenReserve plans tokenized deposits, digital asset custody, and a subsidiary that would issue US dollar-backed stablecoins. The company has not yet filed an application for that subsidiary, so the stablecoin unit remains a stated plan rather than a filed product.
Details of the approvals and product roadmaps were outlined in Cointelegraph’s report on the Wednesday OCC decisions.
When can these US national banks actually open?
The banks cannot open until they meet the OCC’s preopening requirements and receive final approval. Wednesday’s decisions are preliminary and conditional, not final clearance to launch.
Until then, Revolut’s current US model still relies on FDIC-insured partner banks, while OpenReserve continues building its blockchain-based bank that pairs traditional services with tokenized deposits and digital asset offerings under the OCC process.