# Ripple receives final approval for a US national trust bank as bitcoin trades near $80,000

Bitcoin fell about 1% before the Fed decision, and Tom Lee's Bitmine chose share buybacks over ether purchases as crypto prices declined.

- Published: 2026-10-27T05:06:34.199Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-27/ripple-receives-final-approval-for-a-us-national-trust-bank
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: crypto
- Sources: [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/27/ripple-gets-a-final-go-ahead-to-launch-its-own-u-s-national-trust-bank), [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/26/tom-lee-s-bitmine-favors-share-buybacks-to-ether-purchases-as-crypto-declines), [Bitcoin Magazine](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/blink-wallet-adds-inactivity-fee-to-custodial-accounts-accelerating-migration-to-self-custody)

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has [approved Ripple National Trust Bank](https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/27/ripple-gets-a-final-go-ahead-to-launch-its-own-u-s-national-trust-bank), Ripple's chief executive Brad Garlinghouse announced on X. The final approval follows the OCC's [conditional approval in December 2025](https://ripple.com/ripple-press/ripple-secures-federal-approval-to-establish-national-trust-bank/). Reports at the time said a national trust charter allows federally supervised digital-asset custody but [does not permit deposit-taking or lending](https://tangem.com/en/news/regulation/5644-ripple-wins-occ-green-light-for-national-trust-bank-crypto-banking/).

Prices moved the other way. Bitcoin [traded near $80,100, down about 1% over 24 hours](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/amp/story/price-analysis/crypto-prices-today-bitcoin-trades-near-usd-80100-as-fed-meeting-approaches), as traders waited for the Federal Reserve. Gold fell only 0.2% over the same period and held above $4,000.

Corporate holders are adjusting. Bitmine, the ether treasury company chaired by Tom Lee, [spent $46 million buying back its own shares](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/26/tom-lee-s-bitmine-favors-share-buybacks-to-ether-purchases-as-crypto-declines) instead of buying more ether. Lee said crypto had held up better than artificial intelligence (AI) stocks during the recent market pullback. A treasury company that prefers buybacks is signaling that its shares trade below the value of its holdings, which reduces one source of steady demand for the underlying tokens.

Retail custody is also shifting. Blink Wallet [began charging $1 a month](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/blink-wallet-adds-inactivity-fee-to-custodial-accounts-accelerating-migration-to-self-custody) on custodial accounts inactive for 12 months. Bitcoin Magazine says the fee is pushing users toward wallets they control themselves.

## What this means

The OCC charter places a major crypto firm inside the federal banking perimeter, with supervision, reporting and know-your-customer obligations attached. That brings institutional custody business and stablecoin settlement closer to the dollar system. Federal integration makes crypto more usable for regulated money and more visible to the state, and it moves the asset further from the censorship-resistant property that originally attracted holders. The price action supports the desk's tracked view that bitcoin trades with liquidity-sensitive assets: it fell five times as much as gold on the same Fed expectations. The precedent is the 2024 launch of US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which increased institutional access and also increased bitcoin's correlation with US equities. The likelier outcome is more federal trust charters for crypto custodians over the coming months under the current regulatory approach, while bitcoin keeps following US rate expectations. If the Fed signals a December increase on Wednesday, expect bitcoin to underperform gold again. A bitcoin rally on a hawkish Fed day would contradict that read.

## What to watch

- Bitcoin's move relative to gold after Wednesday's Fed statement. Divergence in the same direction as today would confirm it trades as a risk asset, not as a monetary hedge.
- Further OCC charter approvals for crypto firms. A series of approvals would show that crypto custody is becoming part of the regulated US banking system.
- Buyback announcements by other crypto treasury companies. More buybacks instead of token purchases would remove a source of demand that supported prices earlier in the cycle.