Key Highlights
- The OCC has granted Nubank conditional approval to form a U.S. national bank.
- The charter could enable regulated crypto custody and digital asset services.
- The move favors full federal oversight over partnership-based expansion.
Nubank, one of Brazil’s most valuable companies, received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form a U.S. national bank. The approval, announced on Thursday, marks a major step that could expand its role in digital asset custody and crypto-adjacent services.
The move positions fintech to operate directly under U.S. federal oversight rather than relying on partnerships as it scales its presence in the world’s largest financial market.
A regulatory gateway to digital assets
Once fully licensed, Nubank would be able to fill other licenses to offer digital asset custody alongside deposits, cards, and lending. This would place the firm among a small group of federally regulated institutions capable of combining traditional banking with crypto infrastructure in the U.S., a space regulators have historically treated with caution.
The approval remains conditional, with additional sign-offs required from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve. Nubank said it expects to capitalize the bank within 12 months and open it within 18 months, following standard OCC requirements.
US expansion and crypto footprint
The conditional approval strengthens Nubank’s presence in the U.S., where Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU) is already listed on Nasdaq. Shares are trading at $18.02, down 3.92%, as the fintech moves closer to operating under a full federal banking framework.
In 2025, Nubank hired Michael Rihani, formerly of Coinbase, to lead its crypto division. Together, the Nasdaq listing, bank approval, and crypto hires signal a push to expand regulated digital asset services in the U.S.
Institutional strategy over partnerships
By pursuing a full national bank charter, Nubank is opting for direct regulatory alignment instead of operating crypto services through intermediaries. This approach strengthens its credibility with regulators and institutional partners while giving it more control over products such as custody, payments, and potentially tokenized financial services.
Company executives have framed the decision as a long-term infrastructure play rather than a short-term expansion, signaling a focus on compliance-first growth in the U.S.
“When we started over a decade ago, our goal was to prove that technology and design could fundamentally change how people interact with their money. Today, this conditional approval validates our ability to scale that mission into the world’s largest financial market under a comprehensive federal framework,” said David Vélez, Founder and CEO of Nubank.
Global scale behind the US push
Nubank currently serves more than 127 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, where it already operates under strict local regulation. Its U.S. entry builds on that foundation, potentially allowing crypto-related products developed under a federal framework to scale across multiple markets over time.
The strategy also follows recent crypto-focused hires and product expansions, reinforcing the view that Nubank is laying groundwork for deeper digital asset integration rather than treating crypto as a peripheral feature.
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