In brief
- Bastion announced preliminary conditional OCC approval on 18 September 2026 for a charter to be held as Bastion Platforms National Trust Company; conditional approval is a stage in a process, not an operating authority.
- The New York register lists Bastion Platforms Trust Company, LLC with a limited purpose trust charter granted in February 2025; what that entity is specifically approved to do, and what it runs today, is not in the register.
- The OCC decision letter, Corporate Decision 1391, says the converted bank will take no deposits and will not be FDIC-insured, and that the approval lapses if the conversion is not completed within six months unless extended; whether it has completed is not verified.
Reader question: Bastion has “OCC approval” in the headlines. What does that permit today, which entity provides which service, and how does that compare with providers that already hold an operating charter?
Bastion markets stablecoin infrastructure to enterprises and financial institutions: custody, wallets, payment rails and white-label issuance, where the client’s brand goes on the token and Bastion runs the machinery behind it. On 18 September 2026 it announced preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter. For a bank or treasury team evaluating it, the useful question is what that stage means. Conditional approval is permission to proceed toward a charter on terms the regulator sets; the OCC’s decision letter sets out the conditions, but we found no evidence that the conversion has completed.
What is verified today
Conditional: the national trust bank charter, announced 18 September 2026, to be held as Bastion Platforms National Trust Company. PYMNTS reported on 20 September that the OCC allowed the conversion of Bastion Platforms Trust Company into a national bank on the same day it granted conditional approvals to Agora National Trust Bank and Catena Trust Bank.
Register-verified, and only this far: the NYDFS regulated-entities table, checked on 23 September 2026, lists “Bastion Platforms Trust Company, LLC | Limited Purpose Trust Charter | 2025-02”, matching the company’s account of February 2025. The register confirms the entity and the charter type. It does not state that entity’s approved activities, any conditions on it, or which services are live.
Company-reported, register check blocked: the services the disclosure footer attributes to Bastion Platforms US, LLC. Its state licences could not be verified.
Company-reported, stage not stated: Sony Bank’s global stablecoin initiative running on Bastion, and the claim that Bastion issues no stablecoin of its own.
Not verified: completion of the conversion. Bastion does not appear in the OCC’s pending digital-asset applications table, which is consistent with a decided application but says nothing about what happened next. Bastion’s press listing carried only the 18 September announcement when we checked it on 23 September 2026, which is an unsuccessful search rather than evidence that no further notice exists. The decision itself, OCC Corporate Decision 1391, could not be retrieved on 23 September but was reachable on 1 October 2026. It says the bank may begin business as a national trust bank only after the OCC issues a Conversion Completion Acknowledgement, and that the approval terminates automatically if the conversion is not consummated within six months of 18 September 2026, unless the OCC grants an extension.
Entity and authority
| Entity | What the source calls it | Stage | Scope as described |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bastion Platforms Trust Company, LLC | Register-verified: NYDFS lists it with a Limited Purpose Trust Charter, granted 2025-02 | In force per the register, checked 23 September 2026; PYMNTS reports the OCC allowed its conversion into a national bank | NYDFS describes the charter type as allowing fiduciary custody, money transmission in New York without a separate licence, and stablecoin issuance or administration. Bastion’s entity-specific approved scope is not published |
| Bastion Platforms US, LLC | Identified by NMLS ID 2523302, an identifier rather than a licence. Company-reported; state licences could not be verified | Existing per the company | Custodial wallets and conversions, “and partnerships with other licensed” firms |
| Bastion Platforms National Trust Company | The title the converted trust company would operate under (OCC charter number 27198). The OCC decision describes a conversion of Bastion Platforms Trust Company, LLC, not a new entity | Preliminary conditional approval, announced 18 September 2026 | The company describes stablecoin custody and wallets, payment infrastructure and white-label issuance from one federally regulated entity. The OCC decision lists white-label stablecoin issuance, white-label custodial wallets in a fiduciary capacity (stablecoins only), conversion between custodied assets, fiat and USDC for custody customers, and issuer services to other regulated stablecoin issuers; no deposits and no FDIC insurance |
Read that table before reading any headline about this company. Three different things are easy to run together: the register lists the entity and its charter type; NYDFS separately describes what that type of charter can support; and what Bastion itself is approved to do, and does today, appears in neither. The OCC decision settles the conditions for the first three years: operations limited to those of a trust company as set out in the business plan, OCC no-objection before significant changes to that plan, at least $6 million in tier 1 capital, 180 days of operating expenses held in liquid assets, OCC no-objection for new directors and senior officers, and a duty to conform, stop or divest its stablecoin issuance if needed to comply with the GENIUS Act and its implementing rules. It does not settle when the bank opens: we found no completion notice on Bastion’s press listing when checked on 23 September and again on 1 October 2026. The decision names Bastion Platforms, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation, as the trust company’s sole owner; how Bastion Platforms US, LLC fits into the group is not stated.
Product scope, availability and eligibility
Bastion markets custody of stablecoins and other digital assets, wallets, payment and settlement rails, and white-label issuance. Its own framing is that it “operates under its own licenses or as a technology provider under its clients’”, which means the answer to “who is regulated for this service” depends on the deal, not on the brand. The company does not publish a client eligibility list, a jurisdiction list or pricing. Deposit insurance: none for the planned national trust bank. The OCC decision states that it “will not take deposits and will not be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation”, and Bastion’s own disclosures make no insurance claim.
Conditional versus operative: how it compares
| Provider | Federal position | State status and identifiers | Can it operate under that federal authority today? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bastion | Preliminary conditional approval, OCC Corporate Decision 1391, 18 September 2026 | NYDFS limited purpose trust company; Bastion Platforms US, LLC (NMLS ID 2523302 only; state licences could not be verified) | Not established. Conditional approval is a stage before commencement, and we found no evidence of completion |
| Anchorage Digital | Describes itself as the first federally chartered crypto bank, with an OCC charter | Register-checked: NYDFS lists Anchorage Digital NY, LLC with a Virtual Currency License, 2024-12. That is a different entity from the federally chartered bank it describes | Yes, on its own account |
| Paxos | Says Paxos Trust Company, N.A. came under national OCC oversight in 2025 | Company-reported, and its page does not attribute each permission to a named entity: a first NYDFS limited purpose trust charter in 2015, a Singapore major payments institution licence in 2022. No Paxos entity appears in the NYDFS table we checked on 23 September 2026 | Yes, on its own account, and it names PYUSD as issued by Paxos Trust Company, N.A. |
The Anchorage and Paxos federal-status and product statements are company-reported; the Bastion row rests on the OCC decision. The NYDFS listings and the Paxos absence finding were checked on 23 September 2026, and those checks do not independently confirm federal operating authority. On those descriptions, Anchorage and Paxos each claim a federal authority already in place and Paxos names a token issued under it, while Bastion’s is described as preliminary and conditional. What follows from that is a question to ask, not a conclusion to draw: a buyer should ask Bastion which entity would sign, under which authority, and when.
Dependencies
Client licences, where Bastion acts as a technology provider rather than the regulated party. Partner firms, named only as “partnerships with other licensed” firms in its disclosures. The OCC, for the conditions and timing of the conversion. NYDFS, for the existing trust company. On Bastion’s telling, clients keep control of their own token’s brand, users and economics. Who holds the reserves for a client programme, and who is the legal issuer, is not stated in the sources reviewed.
Limitations and unknowns
- Whether the conversion has completed: not yet verified (checked Bastion’s press listing on 23 September and 1 October 2026; OCC Corporate Decision 1391 gives six months from 18 September 2026 before the approval lapses, unless extended).
- Reserve attestation or audit arrangements for client programmes, minting and redemption eligibility and restrictions, and the assets supported: not publicly disclosed (checked bastion.com, its press page and the charter announcement).
- Client eligibility, jurisdictions served and pricing: not publicly disclosed.
- Bastion’s entity-specific approved activities under the New York charter, and which services run under it rather than under Bastion Platforms US, LLC or partner licences: not publicly disclosed; the register gives the entity and charter type only.
- State licences for Bastion Platforms US, LLC: could not be verified; company-reported.
- How Bastion Platforms US, LLC relates to Bastion Platforms, Inc. and to the trust company: not publicly disclosed (checked Bastion’s press-page disclosure and OCC Corporate Decision 1391).
- Legal issuer of record and reserve holder for each white-label programme: not publicly disclosed; the company says it issues no stablecoin of its own, while the OCC decision lists white-label issuance of US dollar-backed stablecoins by the bank alongside services to third-party issuers, so the issuer of record may differ by programme.
- Stage and markets of the Sony Bank programme: not publicly disclosed.
- Founding year: not publicly disclosed on the company’s own site.
Key facts (as of 1 October 2026)
- Subject: Bastion, stablecoin infrastructure for enterprises and financial institutions
- Chief executive: Nassim Eddequiouaq
- Entities: Bastion Platforms Trust Company, LLC (listed by NYDFS with a limited purpose trust charter, 2025-02; entity-specific scope not published); Bastion Platforms US, LLC (NMLS ID 2523302, company-reported, state licences could not be verified); parent of the trust company: Bastion Platforms, Inc., Delaware, per the OCC decision
- Charter status: preliminary conditional OCC approval, Corporate Decision 1391, 18 September 2026, for conversion into Bastion Platforms National Trust Company; lapses if not consummated within six months unless extended; completion not verified as of 1 October 2026
- Marketed products: custody, wallets, payments and settlement, white-label stablecoin issuance (company-reported; per its disclosure, custodial wallets and conversions run through Bastion Platforms US, LLC and licensed partners)
- Named client: Sony Bank’s global stablecoin initiative, stage not stated
- Deposit insurance: none for the planned national trust bank, per the OCC decision; Bastion’s own disclosures make no insurance claim
- Website: bastion.com | X: @Bastion
Sources
- Bastion announcement, 18 September 2026, and OCC Corporate Decision 1391, 18 September 2026
- Bastion press page, including its entity and licensing disclosures
- PYMNTS, 20 September 2026
- Anchorage Digital and Paxos, for the comparison rows
- Registers checked on 23 September 2026: NYDFS regulated entities, OCC pending digital-asset applications, and OCC interpretations and decisions
Last updated: 1 October 2026 (OCC Corporate Decision 1391 added; no other material change found since 23 September). Next recheck triggered by: an OCC Conversion Completion Acknowledgement or other completion notice, the six-month deadline of 18 March 2027, or a change to the entity list in Bastion’s disclosures.
