Bastion Receives OCC Approval for National Trust Bank Charter

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE), Bastion, a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter. This significant milestone allows Bastion to bring its stablecoin issuance, custody, and conversion products under one federally regulated entity, enhancing its ability to serve enterprise and financial institution clients.

The approval places Bastion among a small group of firms to secure conditional approval for a national trust bank charter.

Bastion has been building toward federal supervision since acquiring its New York trust charter in February 2025. The new charter adds federal supervision from the OCC to the state licenses Bastion already holds, fortifying the company’s ability to serve its clients. Under the charter, Bastion will offer fiduciary custody of USDC and other GENIUS Act-compliant digital assets, and white-label stablecoin wallet and issuance services for enterprise clients, including minting, redemption, and conversion between stablecoins and fiat.

Bastion has also strengthened its leadership bench with four new appointments. Colleen Taylor joins as a member of the Board of Directors, bringing her experience as President, U.S. Merchant Services at American Express. Michael Patterson joins as a member of the Board of Directors, having served as Chief Compliance Officer at institutional crypto lender and broker Genesis. Stuart Breslow joins as an Advisor, with over a decade of experience as Chief Compliance Officer at Morgan Stanley. Gabriella Fitzgerald joins as an Advisor, most recently serving as CEO, Healthcare Payments at Optum Financial.

Bastion builds the full technology, operations, and compliance stack behind enterprise stablecoin programs. Global companies and financial institutions use Bastion to build their own stablecoin networks, including custody, movement, on/off-ramps, and issuance, secured at scale. Sony Bank's global stablecoin initiative runs on Bastion.

The approval of the national trust bank charter is a critical step for Bastion as it continues to meet the regulatory and operational standards expected by institutional clients. With this new charter, Bastion aims to provide a federally regulated counterparty that meets the standards of its clients' own regulators, auditors, and risk committees.