OpenReserve Bank, a proposed de novo national bank founded by former MoneyLion executives, has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to open with proprietary blockchain technology. The bank plans to bridge traditional banking with blockchain infrastructure and digital-asset services through tokenized deposits, a stablecoin issuing subsidiary, and a banking-as-a-service platform, according to an OCC decision letter. The proposed bank also announced a $25 million seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Jump Capital, Acrew, and Zero Knowledge Ventures.
The OCC's conditions set initial capitalization requirements of no less than $210 million and a tier 1 leverage ratio of no less than 12.0 percent. Dee Choubey, co-founder and proposed CEO, said the company is filing a separate subsidiary application "in short order" for a proposed dollar-backed stablecoin called ReserveUSD, which he said will be GENIUS Act-compliant. Richard Correia, co-founder and proposed president, described the goal as "one unified on-chain ledger inside a national bank where payments settle instantly in any market." Before commencing operations, OpenReserve must satisfy the OCC's conditional requirements and obtain approval from other regulators such as the FDIC.
The approval signals a regulatory direction that may be eroding the distinction between bank deposits and stablecoins. Klaros Group senior director Roman Goldstein said the OCC appears to be "breaking down the distinction between deposit tokens and stablecoins, or more generally bank deposits and stablecoins." He noted that OpenReserve joins Augustus and SoFi as banks with deposit tokens and stablecoins, and that these institutions appear likely to treat stablecoins and deposit tokens interchangeably, potentially supporting what central bankers call the "singleness of money." Goldstein also said the OCC's formal acknowledgment of banking-as-a-service in the decision letter is a first.
What remains unknown is whether OpenReserve will satisfy the full set of conditional requirements and secure FDIC approval, and how final OCC and other agency rules will shape its stablecoin plans. Choubey said the company is still awaiting final rules but expects to be in compliance by the time it opens for business. The evidence comes from a single American Banker report, so independent confirmation of the charter conditions, funding details, and regulatory implications is not yet available.