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 an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Friday. If approved, the filing would establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC) as a federally regulated entity focused on fiduciary custody and related services for digital assets.
Market Context
The application arrives amid a broader regulatory thaw under President Trump's administration, which has adopted a more industry-friendly stance toward digital assets. Crypto firms have increasingly pursued traditional financial charters to attract institutional clients and navigate the evolving U.S. regulatory landscape. The OCC, which oversees national banks and federal thrifts, has become an attractive pathway for crypto-native companies seeking nationwide operations without relying on state-by-state licensing.
Analysis
The move represents Payward's latest effort to expand its U.S. regulatory footprint under a "multi-charter" strategy. Kraken Financial, the company's Wyoming special purpose depository institution (SPDI), became the first digital-asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account in 2020, granting direct access to the U.S. payments system. Now Payward is seeking OCC oversight for services that require a federally regulated qualified custodian.
"A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody," said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, in a statement. He framed the prospective OCC trust charter alongside the existing Wyoming SPDI as "complementary pillars" of the company's banking strategy.
The timing aligns with Kraken's aggressive acquisition spree aimed at building regulated trading and payments infrastructure ahead of a potential IPO. This week's $600 million deal for Hong Kong-based payments firm Reap Technologies expands its stablecoin-powered cross-border payments and card operations in Asia, following April's agreement to acquire crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million.
Key Numbers
- $1.5 billion: Amount Kraken paid for retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025
- Up to $550 million: Agreed acquisition price for Bitnomial, adding full CFTC licenses
- $600 million: Deal size for Reap Technologies, expanding Asian payments infrastructure
What to Watch
Markets will monitor the OCC's review timeline for PNTC's application. The charter would enable Kraken to offer bank-level custody protections under federal oversight to institutions that require a nationally regulated qualified custodian. Traders should also watch for further clarity on how Payward intends to integrate its various regulatory entities—Kraken Financial, Bitnomial's CFTC-licensed operations, and the prospective OCC trust—into a unified institutional offering ahead of any IPO listing.
The broader implications extend to Kraken's competitive positioning against rivals like Coinbase, which has similarly pursued banking charters in its quest for institutional market share.