The Independent Community Bankers of America has sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, arguing that the OCC has let crypto firms enter the federal banking system through a lighter form of national trust charter.

For a crypto holder, the dispute is about more than the name attached to a company. Custody, trading and lending firms using these charters may operate outside many of the rules that apply to traditional banks, according to ICBA. That includes federal deposit insurance and some state consumer protections.

What ICBA Is Challenging

ICBA filed the lawsuit on Friday, October 2, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It targets an OCC final rule issued on March 2 and the agency’s Interpretive Letter No….