The OCC Has Cleared a Bank Whose Deposits Are Meant to Be Tokenized. The Entry Price Is $210 Million.

On September 2, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for OpenReserve Bank, National Association, a proposed full-service national bank in Salt Lake City. What distinguishes it from a conventional de novo charter is what the business plan describes: tokenized capabilities across all deposit products, alongside payments and treasury services, digital asset custody and foreign correspondent banking, running on what the company calls a programmable core ledger with native onchain settlement.

The OCC approved the bank. It did not approve the stablecoin business the founders want to build next to it.

The Numbers Are the Story

OpenReserve must raise at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital, net of organisational and pre-opening expenses, and hold a tier 1 leverage ratio of no less than 12.0% for its first three years. Capital must be in place within 12 months, and the bank must open within 18 months of approval or the authorisation expires.

Set that against the Revolut charter the OCC approved the same day, which carries a $95 million capital minimum and a 10.0% leverage floor. Both are preliminary conditional approvals from the same agency on the same date. The bank proposing to tokenize its deposits is being asked for more than twice the capital and two extra points of leverage cushion.

The GENIUS Act Condition

Among the conditions imposed is compliance with the GENIUS Act, the federal payment stablecoin statute. That condition is doing real work, because the rules underneath it are still being written: Treasury and the OCC have both issued proposed rulemakings on stablecoin issuance and on anti-money-laundering and sanctions obligations for permitted payment stablecoin issuers, and those proposals are not final.

OpenReserve plans a wholly owned subsidiary to issue, hold, convert and manage US dollar reserve-backed stablecoins. That subsidiary has not filed an application. Nothing in this decision authorises it.

Other Conditions

• Sixty days' notice before any significant deviation from the business plan.
• OCC approval of senior officers and directors during the first three years.
• Bank Secrecy Act and OFAC compliance policies in place before opening.
• Independent audit arrangements, information security standards, and independent security testing of the electronic banking platform.

Who Is Behind It

OpenReserve was founded in 2025 by Diwakar Choubey and Richard Correia. It has raised a $25 million seed round led by a16z crypto, with Jump Capital, Acrew, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Clocktower, Quona, AAF Management and Zero Knowledge Ventures also participating. A $25 million seed round is not a $210 million capital base; the gap between the two is the thing to watch.