Summary:

• Nubank received conditional approval from the US OCC to form a national bank.
• The fintech now enters the bank organization phase before full launch.
• The future US bank plans to offer deposits, lending, credit cards and digital asset custody.
• Cristina Junqueira will lead the US bank, with Roberto Campos Neto as board chair.
• The move builds on Nubank’s growing crypto footprint across Latin America.

Nubank’s next chapter is taking shape in the United States. The Latin American fintech has secured conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national bank, a step that places the company on a formal path into the regulated core of the US financial system. This approval does not mean the bank opens its doors tomorrow. Instead, Nubank now moves into what regulators call the bank organization phase. During this period, the company must meet capital requirements, put governance and compliance systems in place, and satisfy supervisory conditions. It also needs additional sign-offs from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve before operations can begin.

Still, this is a major milestone. A national bank charter would allow Nubank’s US entity to offer services such as deposits, lending, credit cards and digital asset custody under a federal regulatory framework. That combination signals a model where traditional banking and crypto infrastructure sit under the same regulated roof. According to the company announcement, the new US bank will be led by co-founder Cristina Junqueira, while former Central Bank of Brazil president Roberto Campos Neto is set to serve as board chair. Nubank says it aims to fully capitalize and open the bank within 18 months, subject to regulatory approval. Founder and CEO David Vélez framed the move as more than geographic expansion.

That quote captures the broader ambition. Nubank is not only adding a new market. It is trying to transplant its digital-first banking DNA into one of the most tightly regulated financial environments in the world.

Crypto already part of the playbook

Nubank’s US banking plans also make more sense when viewed alongside its steady move into digital assets over the past few years. This is not a last-minute pivot. Crypto has been quietly integrated into its product stack, especially in Brazil. The company entered the crypto space in 2022 through a partnership with Paxos, allowing customers to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies directly in the Nubank app. Around the same time, it disclosed plans to allocate about 1% of its net assets to Bitcoin, showing that digital assets were not just a feature but part of its balance-sheet thinking.

Since then, its crypto offering has widened. In March, Nubank expanded its token lineup in Brazil by adding Cardano, Near Protocol, Cosmos and Algorand, bringing the total number of supported tokens to 20. This gradual expansion suggests a strategy of normalizing crypto inside everyday banking apps rather than treating it as a separate, niche product. The company has also experimented with the link between stablecoins and traditional payment rails. In September, it announced plans to test dollar-pegged stablecoin payments tied to credit cards, a move aimed at blending blockchain-based value transfer with familiar consumer finance tools.

Against that backdrop, the ability to offer digital asset custody under a US national bank structure stands out. Custody, in simple terms, is about safely holding customers’ assets. In crypto, that means secure storage of digital keys and compliance with strict operational and reporting standards. Bringing that inside a federally supervised bank framework could make crypto services feel more familiar to regulators and mainstream customers alike.

A Latin American model steps onto a US stage

Nubank’s scale helps explain why this development matters. The company operates mainly in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, serving more than 127 million customers across those markets. Founded in 2013, it grew by focusing on mobile-first design, lower fees and simpler products compared with legacy banks. It has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2021. Over time, its impact has drawn global recognition, with awards and listings from outlets such as Time and Fast Company. But the US market presents a different level of complexity. Banking regulation is layered, supervision is intense, and competition is deep. Winning conditional OCC approval is therefore as much about regulatory trust as it is about product strategy.

For the broader crypto and fintech space, this step signals something else too. A major digital bank born in Latin America is not approaching the US by skirting regulation or operating only through partnerships. It is going straight toward a national bank structure, with crypto services included in the long-term plan. If Nubank clears the remaining regulatory hurdles and launches within its 18-month target, it could offer a live example of how a digital-native institution blends deposits, lending, cards and digital assets in one supervised framework. That mix reflects where financial services appear to be heading: less separation between “banking” and “crypto,” and more focus on how both can exist inside systems that regulators can oversee and customers can trust.

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