How do I check that a crypto platform is registered and legitimate?

The full answer

This page explains how to read a registration or licence record, using public documents such as the OCC’s letter to Ripple. It does not walk through the Canadian and US registers themselves. The steps for opening an account come on how buying and selling XRP works, and the identity checks a registered platform runs are on why the exchange wants your ID.

The Canadian and US registers themselves are not walked through here.

What does a registration record need to show?

A record is useful only if it answers three questions. Which legal entity holds it, which activities it covers, and whether the approval is final. The OCC’s letter to Ripple shows all three at work. It is addressed to Ripple Labs Inc., it limits the proposed Ripple National Trust Bank to the operations of a trust company, and it grants approval at an early stage only [1].

How can an approval be real but not final?

On December 12, 2025, the OCC granted Ripple National Trust Bank “preliminary conditional approval only”, and its letter says final approval to commence business will not be granted until all preopening requirements are met [1]. Until then, the letter adds, the OCC may modify, suspend or rescind the approval [1]. It also says the approval expires if capital is not raised within 12 months or the bank does not open within 18 months [1]. As of September 28, 2026, no final approval has been reported. The wider story is on whether Ripple is becoming a bank.

The same letter sets the scope. It says the bank plans to offer cryptocurrency custody to affiliates and unaffiliated institutional customers on a fiduciary basis [1]. A news headline about a charter says nothing about stage or scope; the letter itself does.

What does a company’s own licence claim prove?

In its release, Ripple says it holds a portfolio of over 75 global licenses and Money Transmitter Licenses [2]. That is Ripple’s own figure. The same page displays “NMLS #2314015” [2]. A number printed on a company’s website is a lead to check at the regulator, not a check in itself.

Product documents can also name the firms behind them. Purpose Investments says its XRP ETF is held in cold storage with custodians Gemini and Coinbase [4], and CryptoNewsDaily reported that the OSC approved the products in June 2025 [5]. Each named firm can be looked up on its own.

Does being regulated mean losses are covered?

No, not by that fact alone. When the FCA opened UK retail access to crypto exchange-traded notes (first published August 1, 2025, updated February 6, 2026), it required them to trade on an FCA-approved Recognised Investment Exchange and said there will be no Financial Services Compensation Scheme coverage [3]. The FCA says it grants recognition orders to UK investment exchanges to make sure they meet regulatory standards [3]. The OCC letter states that Ripple’s proposed bank will not be an insured depository institution [1]. What cover exists, and where, is set out on whether crypto is insured like a bank account. The rules a Canadian platform must follow to hold client assets are on Canadian platform custody rules.

What should I do if a platform I already use is not on the list?

Without the Canadian or US registers in front of you, a missing entry can’t be read as proof of anything in law. An absence can have several causes. The record may list a different legal name, the firm may be approved in another jurisdiction, or it may not be registered at all. Only the regulator’s record, or a question put to the regulator, separates these. Where a platform turns out to be an imitation, the steps are on how to spot and report an XRP scam, and the ways fake platforms show invented gains are covered on online crypto profit scams. Once a platform checks out, account protection is covered on securing a crypto platform account.

What is the case against treating a licence as a seal of approval?

Commenters on Ripple’s charter application raised criticisms of the cryptocurrency and stablecoin framework, citing “insufficiencies related to potential fraud and financial losses” and the absence of liquidity standards, reserve requirements or consumer protection [1]. The OCC answered that it “regulates and supervises all entities in its jurisdiction in accordance and consistent with applicable law” [1]. A licence shows that a regulator has approved a firm for defined activities; the dispute is over how much protection that approval gives.

Which registers does this page leave out?

As of September 30, 2026, this page has not covered the official Canadian and US registers for crypto trading platforms and money services businesses. Search steps for them are not yet included.