Payward Applies for OCC National Trust Charter

Payward, the parent company of Kraken crypto exchange, has applied for a national trust company charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to a statement released May 8, 2026. The application seeks to establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC) to serve institutional clients and individual customers with regulated, bank-level custody and trust services for digital assets.

Application Details

Payward said the PNTC “expects to serve institutional clients and individual customers seeking regulated, bank-level custody and trust services for digital assets, leveraging Payward’s existing infrastructure, risk management, compliance programs, and regulated affiliates to deliver services in a secure and compliant manner.”

Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated: “Our long-held belief has always been that the right path forward for digital assets runs through robust, transparent regulation. A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody.”

Regulatory Context

Payward’s application follows similar moves by major U.S. crypto platforms. Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based crypto exchange, received conditional approval for its own national trust company charter approximately one month prior. Ripple has also received conditional approval for a national trust charter.

Banking Industry Opposition

The OCC’s move to grant national trust bank charters to crypto and fintech firms has drawn criticism from traditional banking interests. A trade group whose board includes JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America considered filing a lawsuit against the OCC, arguing that the regulator is failing to “heed repeated warnings” about its “reinterpretation of federal licensing rules.”