Nick van Eck’s Agora wins conditional trust-bank approval

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved Agora National Trust Bank on Sept. 18, 2026, naming Nick van Eck as its organizer, director and chief executive officer. The proposed national trust bank would be wholly owned by Agora Atlas Corp. and based in New York.

Agora plans to move issuance of its AUSD stablecoin from Agora Bermuda Limited to the U.S. bank after receiving final approval. The transfer would include related accounts and underlying assets. The OCC addressed a potential affiliate-transaction issue under Regulation W and said the bank’s stablecoin activities must comply with the GENIUS Act and related rules.

The approval, issued in OCC Corporate Decision 1393, does not permit the bank to begin operations. Agora must meet pre-opening conditions, including an OCC examination and capital requirements. The bank must hold at least $10 million in Tier 1 capital, eligible liquid assets equal to the greater of $5 million or 50% of Tier 1 capital, and enough liquid assets to cover 180 days of operating expenses during its first three years.

The preliminary approval will expire if Agora does not raise the required capital within 12 months or open the bank within 18 months of the approval date. The OCC can modify, suspend or withdraw the approval before final authorization.

The proposed bank would serve institutional and business customers. Its planned activities include issuing stablecoins, managing reserves, providing digital-asset custody and settlement services, and offering fiduciary investment advice. A national trust bank cannot accept demand deposits or make loans.

AUSD is currently issued by Agora Bermuda Limited under a Class F license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Agora’s website identifies the stablecoin as backed by cash and short-term government securities. VanEck helps manage the reserves, while State Street provides custody services, according to company and investor disclosures.

In an April 2026 company post, Van Eck described the proposed charter as a way to stop relying on “rented” U.S. financial infrastructure. After the preliminary approval, he wrote that Agora had built a stablecoin, on- and off-ramps, a ledger and licensing structure and wanted one regulated entity for its stablecoin, banking, wallet and operator activities.

Agora allows companies to issue branded stablecoins using AUSD’s liquidity network. Partners can receive part of the income generated by reserves, according to the company. The model is designed for businesses that want to issue a branded dollar without building their own issuance and settlement infrastructure.

Agora raised $12 million in a seed round led by Dragonfly in 2024 and $50 million in a Series A led by Paradigm in July 2025. AUSD was first issued in 2024. Its circulating supply reached about $231 million in early October 2026, according to blockchain data, compared with the larger supplies of USDT and USDC.

Van Eck co-founded Agora with Drake Evans and Joe McGrady. Evans is listed as president and chief technology officer of the proposed bank. Van Eck is the son of Jan van Eck, chief executive of VanEck, which is involved in AUSD reserve management. The OCC decision identifies Van Eck by his legal name, Nicholas van Eck, and lists a Jersey City, New Jersey, address for the organizing group.