Stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge is applying for a national trust bank license with the OCC, a strategic move in Stripe's plans to expand its stablecoin ecosystem.
Bridge , the stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion last year, is taking a major step toward becoming one of the most regulated stablecoin organizations in the US.
Bridge is applying for a national trust bank license with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), one of the top U.S. federal banking regulators, co-founder Zach Abrams said Wednesday.
If approved, Bridge would operate within a unified federal framework, consistent with the GENIUS Act on stablecoins signed into law this summer. Specifically, Bridge would be allowed to provide services for issuing, managing, and custody of stablecoins under official regulations.
Abrams Chia on the X platform that the company has long believed stablecoins will become the core of tightly regulated finance, and this regulatory infrastructure will allow Bridge to tokenize trillions of dollars in assets to realize that future.
The move isn’t entirely unexpected, as Stripe signaled it was seeking OCC oversight two weeks ago . Bridge now joins a group of major stablecoin issuers like Circle , Paxos, and Ripple that are pursuing federal oversight. Notably, Anchorage Digital remains the only native crypto company to receive a federal banking license after receiving OCC approval in 2021, highlighting the rigor of the process.
Stripe's Aggressive Strategy in the Stablecoin Space
Stripe has significantly accelerated its stablecoin development since completing its Bridge acquisition. In June 2025, Stripe partnered with Coinbase and Shopify to make it easier for merchants to accept Circle 's stablecoin USDC , expanding the use of digital asset payments in e-commerce.
Stripe then introduced the Open Issuance platform, a solution that helps businesses issue custom stablecoins based on Bridge's infrastructure. This move allows companies to create stablecoins that fit their specific business needs, from internal payments to loyalty programs. Meanwhile, Stripe is developing Tempo, a payments-specific Layer 1 blockchain optimized for fast transaction speeds and low costs.
According to Bloomberg, Stripe is also rolling out a stablecoin subscription payment model, further expanding the application of digital assets in corporate finance. These successive steps show Stripe's ambition to build a comprehensive stablecoin ecosystem, from issuance infrastructure to actual payment applications.
Bridge’s application for a national trust bank license not only demonstrates its commitment to compliance, but also reflects the stablecoin industry’s shift from a relatively laissez-faire model to a more regulated system. If successful, Bridge would set an important precedent for fintech companies looking to move deeper into the digital asset space under federal regulatory oversight.
