TheBlock
Andreessen Horowitz-backed OpenReserve has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a full-service national bank, the OCC said in a letter on Wednesday. The proposed bank must raise at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital, net of organizational and preopening expenses, and maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 12% during its first three years of operation. Founded in 2025 by Diwakar Choubey and Richard Correia, OpenReserve is being built around a programmable core ledger and native onchain settlement, with planned services spanning deposits and lending, payments and treasury, tokenized deposit products, digital asset custody, and foreign correspondent banking.
Why it matters
The $210M capital floor and 12% Tier 1 leverage bar mark OpenReserve as a heavier lift than the narrow trust-bank nods the OCC has issued to Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle since 2025. A full-service national bank charter carries federal preemption across state lines plus access to Federal Reserve payment rails, the plumbing a tokenized-deposit or stablecoin business needs to scale beyond the trust-bank perimeter. The OCC letter also flags a wholly owned subsidiary for the issuance, custody, conversion, and payment of US dollar-denominated reserve-backed stablecoins, though the subsidiary has not yet filed its own application.
Market impact
The approval lands in a regulatory window shaped by Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who has argued that entities engaging in novel technologies deserve a federally supervised banking pathway. Since 2025 the OCC has received 40 de novo charter applications and approved 21; Revolut was cleared the same Wednesday, with Trump-backed World Liberty Trust Company approved weeks earlier. Senator Elizabeth Warren attacked the push in May, accusing the OCC of handing charters to crypto firms that could operate beyond the narrow activities the National Bank Act permits, scrutiny OpenReserve will inherit as it works toward final approval, FDIC deposit insurance, and Federal Reserve Bank stock.
Frequently asked questions
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What capital must OpenReserve raise before opening?
The OCC's letter requires at least $210 million in initial paid-in capital, net of organizational and preopening expenses, plus a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 12% during the first three years of operation.
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What services will the proposed bank offer?
Planned services span deposits and lending, payments and treasury, tokenized deposit products, digital asset custody, and foreign correspondent banking, all built around a programmable core ledger with native onchain settlement.
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What is OpenReserve's stablecoin plan?
The OCC letter flags a wholly owned subsidiary intended to issue, custody, convert, and pay out US dollar-denominated reserve-backed stablecoins, though that subsidiary has not yet filed its own application.
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Who founded OpenReserve and which investors backed it?
Diwakar Choubey and Richard Correia founded the company in 2025. Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto led a prior $25M seed round, with Jump Capital, Acrew, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Clocktower, Quona, AAF Management, and Zero Knowledge Ventures participating.
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What steps remain before OpenReserve can open for business?
Beyond the preliminary OCC approval, OpenReserve must satisfy the agency's preopening requirements, receive final OCC approval, obtain FDIC deposit insurance, and apply for Federal Reserve Bank stock.
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