The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Sept. 18 granted Agora preliminary conditional approval to organize a U.S. national trust bank that would absorb AUSD stablecoin issuance and reserves from its Bermuda affiliate, according to the agency's decision letter (cd1393).

The order names the proposed entity Agora National Trust Bank, headquartered in New York. It authorizes the bank to organize, not to open for business. A preopening examination and final OCC clearance are required before deposits and operations begin.

What does the charter cover?

The order describes a planned "cutover" after establishment, transferring AUSD issuance, underlying reserve assets and associated liabilities from Agora Bermuda Limited to the new entity. Holders and institutional counterparties would see those functions move inside an OCC-supervised institution. The bank will not carry federal deposit insurance.

AUSD had approximately 219.1 million tokens in circulation on Oct. 6, per CoinGecko. Agora Bermuda Limited, the existing issuer, operates under a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Agora states that reserves are managed by VanEck, held by State Street, and audited through independent reserve attestations by Grant Thornton LLP.

Permitted activities include dollar-backed stablecoin issuance and reserve maintenance, digital-asset custody, payments and settlement for custody clients, and fiduciary investment advice. The customer base is restricted to institutions and businesses, excluding retail depositors.

What conditions apply?

For its first three years, the bank must maintain at least $10 million in tier 1 capital, with the greater of half that amount or $5 million held in eligible liquid assets. It must also keep 180 days of wind-down operating expenses in eligible liquid assets, separately from the capital buffer above.

Before opening, the bank must establish anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance procedures, retain an independent external auditor, and secure OCC clearance for its final systems architecture. Directors and senior executives require the OCC's non-objection.

The approval requires the bank to change, cease, or divest activities—including stablecoin issuance and redemption—if necessary to comply with the GENIUS Act and subsequent applicable regulations, as determined by the OCC. That condition gives the regulator direct leverage over the bank's product roadmap.

How does this fit the wider trust-bank push?

Agora joins Ripple, BitGo, and Paxos among firms that have received conditional trust-bank approvals from the OCC. The Independent Community Bankers of America filed suit against the OCC on Oct. 2, arguing that the agency exceeded its authority by permitting national trust banks to conduct substantial non-fiduciary business. ICBA's complaint seeks to overturn a March chartering rule and a 2021 interpretive letter, and asks the court to vacate Protego's approval—not Agora's.

The OCC's Agora decision articulates the agency's contrary position: trust-company operations can include non-fiduciary custody, and payment-stablecoin issuance falls within the National Bank Act.

What's the next milestone?

Under the order, the approval expires if Agora fails to raise capital within 12 months or does not open within 18 months of the Sept. 18 decision, unless the OCC grants an extension. Agora's immediate task is satisfying the opening conditions imposed by the conditional approval and clearing the OCC's preopening examination process.