The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) of the United States has taken an important step toward the crypto industry by granting conditional approval to OpenReserve's application to establish a national bank. This decision marks another stage in the integration of digital assets into the traditional financial system, yet the path to a full launch remains thorny.
The regulator's key condition is raising start-up capital of at least $210 million. Additionally, during the first three years of operation, the bank must maintain a Tier 1 leverage capital adequacy ratio of no less than 12%. These requirements underscore the OCC's cautious approach to new players combining classic banking operations with cryptocurrency innovations.
Hybrid model and stablecoin ambitions
OpenReserve intends to offer clients not only traditional banking services but also tokenized deposits, as well as custodial storage of digital assets. Such diversification looks logical amid growing demand for institutional crypto services. However, plans to issue dollar-backed stablecoins remain on paper for now: an application to create a separate subsidiary for these purposes has not yet been submitted to the OCC.
The project already has a financial cushion: earlier, the startup raised $25 million in a round led by venture giant a16z crypto. Nevertheless, the gap between the current $25 million and the required $210 million indicates that OpenReserve faces serious work in finding additional investors.
My analysis: the OCC's preliminary approval is a positive signal for the entire ecosystem, as it demonstrates American regulators' readiness for dialogue with crypto projects. However, high capital and liquidity ratio requirements could become a barrier for many startups, which in the long run may lead to market consolidation and the dominance of only a few financially stable players.