Stablecoin issuers are moving toward bank charters in the United States, Tether is planning a U.S. product, and the Bank of England has proposed caps on holdings of systemic stablecoins.
Ripple has applied to form Ripple National Trust Bank, a federal trust institution that could custody assets and, subject to separate Federal Reserve decisions, seek account access to central bank payment rails.
Tether plans a U.S.-domiciled stablecoin called USAT, and DBS, Franklin Templeton, and Ripple agreed to enable trading of tokenized money market fund shares, which places bank-grade cash equivalents closer to on-chain payments and settlement.
The Bank of England has proposed limits of 10,000 to 20,000 pounds per individual wallet for systemic stablecoins, with 10 million pounds for businesses, a structure aimed at payment use and financial stability safeguards rather than large-scale savings balances.
The U.S. path now hinges on two linked outcomes, the federal trust bank perimeter and whether any issuer gains Federal Reserve account access.
The trust charter, as sought by Ripple, brings OCC supervision, fiduciary duties, periodic examinations, and formalizes how the issuer holds reserves in cash and short Treasuries.
The second step, Federal Reserve access, is discretionary and guided by the central bank’s Account Access Guidelines. Courts have affirmed the Fed’s ability to deny access in novel cases, which means a charter is a prerequisite but not a guarantee.
If a payment-stablecoin issuer were admitted, reserves could be placed directly at the Fed, earning interest on reserve balances. This would reduce duration and banking-counterparty risk and simplify liquidity management during redemptions.
If access is not granted, the reserve model continues to rely on T-bill ladders, government money market funds, and systemically important custodians.
