Nubank of Brazil Secures OCC Conditional Approval for U.S. National Bank – Crypto Custody on the Horizon?

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approval for Nubank to establish a national bank, which may set the stage for regulated cryptocurrency custody services in the nation.

This approval was issued 121 days after the company submitted its application on September 30, 2025, allowing Nubank to begin the bank organization phase.

During this timeframe, Nubank met the OCC’s requirements for capitalization, governance, and supervision, and additionally secured independent authorizations as a standalone operational entity from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve.

Source: Nubank

The regulators have set a deadline of 12 months for the company to fully capitalize the institution and 18 months to launch the bank.

Nubank’s U.S. Expansion Aims for Comprehensive Banking and Crypto Services

<ponce fully approved, the charter would enable nubank to operate as a federally regulated national bank under name nubank, n.a., offering deposit accounts, credit card products, lending solutions, and direct custody of digital assets for customers in united states.

It is also important to highlight that it is feasible to provide crypto custody on a federal banking platform, while most cryptocurrency offerings in the U.S. still rely on a patchwork of state licenses or partnerships with existing banks.

Unlike trust charters, which generally restrict companies from accepting deposits or providing loans, the Nubank national bank charter would permit it to offer a full suite of consumer banking products alongside digital asset custody.

This would position the fintech as one of the first significant, consumer-focused digital banks to deliver both traditional banking and crypto services under the same federal license.

The approval is seen as an extension of the overarching strategy of Nubank’s founder and CEO, David Vélez, to demonstrate that a digital-first banking model can expand globally, even within a regulated framework.

The U.S. branch will be headed by Nubank co-founder Cristina Junqueira, who has moved to the United States, with former Central Bank of Brazil president Roberto Campos Neto acting as board chairman.

Nubank was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in São Paulo. It has grown to become one of the largest digital financial services providers globally, boasting a customer base of over 127 million across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.

In terms of customer numbers, it is the largest privately held financial institution in Brazil and has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2021 under the ticker NU.

The company reported record revenue of $4.2 billion in the third quarter of 2025, reflecting a 39% increase year-over-year.

As Regulators Increase Scrutiny, Nubank Deepens Its Involvement in Crypto

Nubank has been progressively expanding into digital assets in recent years.

By 2022, it partnered with Paxos to enable customers to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies within its app, and announced initiatives to test stablecoin payments pegged to the dollar linked to credit cards.

@Nubank, the largest digital bank in Latin America, is set to integrate stablecoins into its ecosystem, starting with credit card transactions.#Nubank #Stablecoin https://t.co/VUr4feetL9

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) September 19, 2025

Since then, its cryptocurrency offerings have grown to include dozens of tokens, on-chain transfers to external wallets, in-app swapping, and yield support for stablecoins.

As of August 2025, the company announced it had over 6.6 million crypto users, primarily consisting of millennials or Gen Z, and that cryptocurrency activity was now a vital aspect of engagement within its ecosystem.

The OCC license aligns with a broader trend in Washington to bring more digital asset activities under the federal banking umbrella.

In December, the regulator granted conditional approval to various crypto-native firms, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos, allowing them to function as national trust banks specializing in custody and fiduciary services.

The OCC has conditionally approved five crypto firms, including @Circle and @Ripple, to establish national trust banks.#Ripple #Circle https://t.co/wCeTNrhOQZ

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 13, 2025

Further applications have emerged in early 2026, including proposals from Nomura-backed Laser Digital and Trump-associated World Liberty Financial. Revolut has also indicated plans to seek a U.S. banking license after abandoning its acquisition strategy.

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