Coinbase gets conditional US approval for trust charter

April 2 (Reuters) - Coinbase Global COIN.O has received conditional approval from banking regulators for a national trust company charter, it said on Thursday, a move that could boost the top U.S. cryptocurrency exchange's appeal among large institutional investors.

The U.S. has been taking a more crypto-friendly approach since the re-election of President Donald Trump, with regulators easing prior curbs and dialing back enforcement actions.

Full approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would let Coinbase operate as a federally regulated crypto custodian.

"Federal oversight...will bring consistency and uniformity to our custody business and create a foundation for new products — including payments and related services," Greg Tusar, Coinbase Institutional's co-CEO, wrote in a blog on Coinbase's website.

The OCC's conditional approval does not mean that Coinbase will become a commercial bank, the company clarified in the blog, adding that it would not be taking retail deposits or partaking in fractional reserve banking.

Earlier this year, Crypto.com also received conditional approval from the OCC for a national trust bank charter.