Payward Applies for OCC National Trust Company Charter

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has applied for a national trust company charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to a statement. The application seeks to establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), which would provide regulated custody and trust services for digital assets.

Application and Service Objectives

According to Payward’s statement, PNTC expects to serve institutional clients and individual customers seeking regulated, bank-level custody and trust services for digital assets. The company stated it would leverage “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 commented on the application: “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 and Competitor Activity

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

Banking Industry Opposition

A trade group whose board includes major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America previously considered filing a lawsuit against the OCC over the regulator’s decision to grant national trust bank charters to crypto and fintech firms. The banking advocacy group considered arguing that the OCC is failing to “heed repeated warnings” about its “reinterpretation of federal licensing rules.”