Stripe’s Bridge Joins Stablecoin Issuers in Pursuit of US Bank Charters

Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure division of payments giant Stripe, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank under the GENIUS Act. This MOVE aligns with broader industry efforts to bring stablecoin operations under federal oversight rather than relying on state-by-state money transmitter licenses.

The proposed charter WOULD create a unified regulatory framework for Bridge's stablecoin issuance, reserves, and custody operations. Co-founder Zack Abrams emphasized the potential to "tokenize trillions of dollars" through this federally supervised structure. Stripe acquired Bridge in a $1.1 billion deal last October as part of its strategy to incorporate blockchain payments into its global merchant network.

Bridge joins a growing list of crypto firms including Circle, Paxos, Ripple, and Coinbase seeking federal trust bank status. This trend follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a new charter category specifically for stablecoin issuers. The legislation represents a significant step toward regulatory clarity for dollar-pegged digital assets in the United States.