United Texas Bank secured a national charter to expand crypto banking and 24/7 settlement services.
Crypto News
United Texas Bank (UTB) has received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to convert from a Texas state charter to a national bank charter. CEO Scott Beck confirmed to CoinDesk on May 27 that the two conditions attached to that approval had been fully satisfied on the same day.
The conversion makes UTB one of the first banks to complete an OCC charter conversion since the Dodd-Frank Act passed 15 years ago, Beck said. The Dallas-based institution now carries the same federal licensure, full trust powers, and direct Federal Reserve wire and automated clearing house (ACH) access as money-center banks, while retaining its existing FDIC insurance.
UTB has operated under a Federal Reserve Consent Order since 2024 related to its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance infrastructure. The bank responded by building a proprietary system it calls UTB Prism Sentinel, which conducts real-time blockchain surveillance to manage BSA and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) risk.
Clearing $10B a Month for Crypto Firms
UTB has processed more than $120 billion in annual transactions for crypto clients over the past five years and currently clears around $10 billion a month in US dollar volume for foreign banks, over-the-counter (OTC) desks, and major exchanges. "If you're a digital asset player, you can't get an account at a Bank of America or a Citibank," Beck said. "You can come to United Texas Bank and basically have full access to the US dollar."
By moving its regulatory structure under the OCC rather than the Texas Department of Banking, UTB has aligned itself with the federal executive branch. Beck said the shift protects clients from fragmented state-level oversight that has historically restricted crypto businesses from accessing US banking infrastructure.
The bank is launching UTB Atomic, a 24/7 AI-driven real-time payment network designed to restore round-the-clock settlement infrastructure following the closures of Silvergate and Signature Bank. The platform enables instant, off-balance-sheet clearing between institutional clients, including during overnight and weekend windows when traditional banks are unavailable.
UTB Prism Sentinel runs alongside UTB Atomic, providing continuous compliance monitoring as payments process. Beck said both products are built to meet upcoming federal digital asset rules under the GENIUS Act and the proposed CLARITY Act. A full digital asset custody and trust department is expected to launch later in the summer of 2026.
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