A national banking charter would allow the company to hold its stablecoin reserves on its own balance sheet.

By Niket Nishant (Reuters) -Crypto firm Ripple is applying for a national bank charter in the United States, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote in a social media post on Wednesday, following a similar move by stablecoin giant Circle.

The application follows on the heels of Circle and Wise, as crypto and payment companies seek crypto custody approval and direct access to the Federal Reserve payment system.