Andreessen Horowitz-backed OpenReserve has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a national bank. The OCC requires the crypto-focused venture to raise at least $210 million in capital and hold a 12% Tier 1 leverage ratio, while OpenReserve plans a stablecoin-issuing subsidiary alongside tokenized deposits and digital asset custody.
OpenReserve, a crypto banking startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz, has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate as a full-service national bank. The proposed bank must raise at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital, net of organizational and preopening expenses. It must also maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 12% during its first three years of operation.
OpenReserve plans tokenized deposits and a stablecoin subsidiary
Founded in 2025 by Diwakar Choubey and Richard Correia, OpenReserve says it is built around a programmable core ledger with native onchain settlement. Its proposed services span deposits and lending, payments and treasury services, tokenized deposit products, digital asset custody, and foreign correspondent banking.
The OCC letter also states that OpenReserve plans to establish a wholly owned subsidiary for the issuance, custody, conversion, and payment of U.S. dollar-denominated reserve-backed stablecoins. That subsidiary has not yet filed an application with the regulator.
OpenReserve previously raised a $25 million seed round led by a16z crypto, with participation from Jump Capital, Acrew, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Clocktower, Quona, AAF Management, and Zero Knowledge Ventures. Before it can begin operating, the bank must satisfy the OCC's preopening requirements, receive final approval, obtain FDIC deposit insurance, and apply for Federal Reserve Bank stock.
OCC continues approving crypto charters
OpenReserve's approval extends a string of conditional charter decisions for crypto-focused institutions under Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who has said entities using novel technologies should have a pathway to become federally supervised banks. Since 2025, the OCC has received 40 de novo charter applications and approved 21.
Regulators have also granted conditional national trust bank charters to Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle. Revolut received a similar approval on Wednesday, weeks after the Trump-backed World Liberty Trust Company secured its own OCC approval.
However, the charter push has drawn criticism. In May, Senator Elizabeth Warren accused the OCC of granting national trust charters to crypto firms that could seek to operate beyond the narrow activities the National Bank Act permits, naming Ripple, Circle, Paxos, Fidelity, BitGo, and Coinbase among the firms.
Source: The Block
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
