Kraken parent goes for the OCC charter in bid to become a federal crypto bank

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has applied for a national trust company charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to a Friday announcement shared with CoinDesk, as the company looks to expand its regulated digital-asset custody business.

If approved, the charter would establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), a federally regulated entity focused on fiduciary custody and related services for digital assets. Kraken said the trust would primarily serve institutions and customers seeking bank-level custody protections under OCC oversight.

The filing marks Payward’s latest effort to expand its U.S. regulatory footprint as crypto firms increasingly pursue traditional financial charters to attract institutional clients and navigate a shifting regulatory environment.

“A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody,” Payward and Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the statement.

The move comes as crypto firms increasingly seek federal charters, licenses and banking approvals under the Trump administration’s more industry-friendly approach to digital-asset regulation.

Kraken’s broader expansion strategy has included a string of acquisitions aimed at building regulated trading and payments infrastructure ahead of a potential IPO.

In addition to its $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025, Payward agreed in April to acquire crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million, adding a full suite of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) licenses covering brokerage, clearing and exchange operations.

This week, the company also struck a $600 million deal to buy Hong Kong-based payments firm Reap Technologies, expanding Kraken’s push into stablecoin-powered cross-border payments and card infrastructure in Asia

The proposed trust company would complement Kraken Financial, the Wyoming special purpose depository institution (SPDI) chartered in 2020. Kraken Financial became the first digital-asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to the U.S. payments system.

Payward framed the OCC application as part of a broader “multi-charter” strategy aimed at offering different types of regulated financial services under both state and federal oversight.

Under the proposal, PNTC would rely on Payward’s existing compliance, risk management and custody infrastructure while expanding access to clients that require a federally regulated qualified custodian.

Crypto firms have increasingly explored bank and trust charters as regulators clarify rules around custody and institutional participation in digital assets. National trust charters, overseen by the OCC, have previously been pursued by crypto-native firms seeking broader legitimacy and nationwide operations without relying solely on state-by-state licensing.

Sethi said the company’s Wyoming SPDI and prospective OCC trust charter would serve “complementary pillars” of Payward’s banking strategy as the U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets continues to evolve.

Read more: Kraken parent Payward closes $550 million Bitnomial deal, securing full CFTC derivatives stack