Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said in a fireside chat that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has received 40 applications for new bank charters since President Donald Trump took office, an eightfold increase from the prior four-year administration. Twenty-three applications include some form of digital asset activity, while prospective applicants are increasingly incorporating payment stablecoins into their business plans. Gould also said the OCC expects to issue its final rule under the GENIUS Act by November. He described the agency’s payment stablecoin role as ensuring the quality of reserve assets backing the instruments, drawing a parallel with its original oversight of reserves backing national bank-issued notes.