By Anand Sinha

The San Francisco-headquartered blockchain tech and crypto payments company Ripple applied for a national banking license from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on July 2, the Wall Street Journal reported.

🚨 JUST IN: Ripple eyes national banking license in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/Cp0RTh2YlF

— Roundtable Network (@RTB_io) July 2, 2025

Ripple is the company behind the XRP ledger and the RLUSD stablecoin. If the OCC grants the license to the firm, the body would regulate the stablecoin. The license would also allow the firm to offer additional crypto services.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed the news on X, writing that the firm's move reflects its long-standing compliance roots.

True to our long-standing compliance roots, @Ripple is applying for a national bank charter from the OCC. If approved, we would have both state (via NYDFS) and federal oversight, a new (and unique!) benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market.

Earlier in the week via… https://t.co/IdiR7x3eWZ

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 2, 2025

Earlier this week, the firm also applied for a Federal Reserve master account via Standard Custody & Trust Company, its wholly owned subsidiary, Garlinghouse added. If approved, it would allow Ripple to hold RLUSD reserves directly with the Fed, he underlined. He continued:

"In a $250B+ market, RLUSD stands out for putting regulation first, setting the standard that institutions expect."

Ripple's application for a banking license closely follows on the heels of Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), the crypto company behind the USDC stablecoin, requesting the same license on June 30.

A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that tries to maintain a stable value, unlike traditionally volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The San Francisco-headquartered company launched the RLUSD stablecoin on Dec. 16, 2024. As per DeFiLlama, RLUSD has a market capitalization of $455.24 million.

Source: DeFiLlama

The total stablecoin market cap stood at more than $253 billion at the time of writing.

Road ahead for Ripple

On June 17, the Senate passed the GENIUS Act that deals with stablecoin regulation.

As there is scope for more regulatory clarity regarding crypto in the U.S., firms like Ripple are also trying to expand their operations.

READ: XRP has a new shocking target in 2026

Meanwhile, the firm is engaged in a years-long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the sale of allegedly unregistered XRP securities. 

Following the announcement, XRP jumped from $2.237 to $2.292 as per Kraken's price feed.