Kraken Parent Company Applies for OCC Charter in Move Toward Banking

The US banking regulator has already approved similar charter applications for Coinbase, Ripple Labs, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos.

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, announced that it had filed an application with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust company charter, following other digital asset companies.

In a Friday notice, Payward said that the OCC application, if approved, would result in the establishment of Payward National Trust Company, allowing it to “provide fiduciary custody and other services primarily for digital assets.” The application would make the Kraken parent one of a handful of crypto companies moving closer toward banking, following OCC approvals for Coinbase and others.

“A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody,” said Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi. “This is not about being first; it is about getting the framework right so markets can scale with clarity, interoperability, and long-term vision for what clients will demand as these systems mature.”

The OCC, headed by US President Donald Trump’s nominee Jonathan Gould, approved similar charter applications for Ripple Labs, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos in December. The agency has come under scrutiny for such approvals as it considers an application from World Liberty Financial, the crypto company co-founded by Trump and his sons. 

Related: Kraken parent Payward closes Bitnomial deal to expand US crypto derivatives

According to Payward, the OCC application would build on its Special Purpose Depository Institution established in Wyoming through Kraken Financial. The company also holds a Federal Reserve master account, giving it access to the US payment services system.

Kraken still eyeing public offering after confidential filing

While the crypto exchange’s parent company has closed acquisition deals with Bitnominal and announced an agreement to buy Reap, Kraken could still be planning an initial public offering (IPO) in the US. Sethi said in May that the company was “about 80% ready” to go public by 2027 as the exchange announced a partnership with MoneyGram.

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