OCC Bank Charters Will Usher Stablecoin Adoption Wave

Shivani Siroya (0:03)

I think the piece that's still missing is the access to capital and access to credit piece. So as we think about how do we actually increase transactions and again, engagement of stable coins, what we're still missing is giving consumers purchasing power and liquidity.

Simon Taylor (0:18)

You've got this sort of two-speed market that emerges like gradually making the old stuff go faster through evolution, but then also this other market where it's tokenized and it just moves fast, and you're either capable of playing there or you're not.

Nick van Eck (0:30)

Even from when you guys started the Tokenized podcast, we've moved so much from crypto-only use cases to traditional corporates using this technology, which has always been the goal.

Cuy Sheffield (0:40)

Particularly with Robinhood's entry into the space, every company needs to have a strategy for what are they doing with Tokenized stocks, which a year or two years ago, there's very little happening now, it's every week, new partnerships rolling out.

Simon Taylor (0:54)

Welcome to Tokenized, the show focused on stable coins and the institutional adoption of Tokenized real world assets. My name is Simon Taylor, I'm your host, author at FinTech Brain Food and head of market dev at Tempo. And I'm joined as always by Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa. How are you doing, Cuy?

Cuy Sheffield (1:10)

I am great. We've got some amazing guests, a lot of news to cover. Let's get into it.

Simon Taylor (1:15)

Yeah, speaking of amazing guests, I think this is the third time a three-peat for Nick van Eck, co-founder and CEO of Agora. How are you doing, Nick?

Nick van Eck (1:22)

Great, thank you for having me.

Simon Taylor (1:24)

Good man. But making a long-over debut is Shivani Siroya, who is the founder and CEO at Tala. How are you doing, Shivani?

Shivani Siroya (1:32)

I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me.

Simon Taylor (1:34)

I'm excited to have you on. You guys do way more behind the scenes than I think people realize. So excited for people to learn more. Before we jump into the show, got to remind viewers and listeners that views of our contributors today are their own and might not reflect those of companies they represent. Please don't take anything we say as tax legal or financial advice, and also happy to remind you that this episode is sponsored by Fireblocks.

Tokenized is sponsored by Fireblocks. Fireblocks is the stablecoin infrastructure of choice for global businesses from Visa to Worldpay to Bridge to Revolut. With over $100 billion in monthly stablecoin volume, Fireblocks powers stablecoin strategies at scale with infrastructure that enables PSPs, fintechs, remitters and banks to issue, move, hold and manage stablecoins. It's all done securely at scale with secure built-in compliance. With Fireblocks, you get complete control to build your own stablecoin orchestration layer, create payment accounts, manage liquidity and access on and off ramps in over 60 currencies. Makes it easier for you to build and scale and expand your business globally. Learn more at fireblocks.com.

Okay, story number one this week is the OCC approved three National Trust Bank charters in a single day, one for Agora, Katena and Bastion, the ABCs of charters it seems, taking 2026's tally to at least 12

Katena is the AI native bank from Circle's co-founder Sean Neville. They're looking for that Denovo charter, covering custody, investment management, and trust services for AI agents specifically. Very cool. Bastion is converting its New York Trust Company, chartered by NYDFS in February, and it's got six months to complete before the approval lapses. Lots going on with Bastion. I think they're behind Sony USD, and we've had the CEO on the show before. But Nick, your Denovo charter with a million and working capital requirements coming soon, moving a USD from Bermuda into this new national bank. Very exciting. Tell us more about this conditional approval and what it means for you.

Nick van Eck (3:59)

Yeah, this is huge for us. This is probably the most important milestone in the company today. What it immediately unlocks for us is being able to serve the US. We've also focused the last year on really developing the product suite to be a one stop shop for businesses. And so a lot of this has been quiet, but we can talk a little bit more about it now.

With the bank, on day one, we'll be able to offer custody, stable coin issuance, transaction based services, and then investment advisory and treasury work. And what this really enables us to do is be the one stop shop for companies that are adopting stable coins. And so if you're an enterprise, the first question folks typically ask is how do I hold these assets?