Kraken Moves to Become a Federally Licensed Crypto Bank

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on May 8, 2026, seeking a national trust company charter. If approved, the application would establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), which would provide fiduciary custody and other services primarily for digital assets.

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 Multi-Charter Strategy

The proposed trust would provide federally regulated custody and fiduciary services for digital assets to institutional clients and to individuals who require bank-level custody under federal oversight. If the OCC approves the charter, Payward National Trust Company would be able to operate across all 50 states without seeking separate licenses in each state.

The move builds on Kraken Financial, the Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) chartered in 2020, which became the first digital-asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to the U.S. payments system. Payward describes the two structures as serving distinct but complementary regulatory purposes under a unified banking strategy.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the application in terms of long-term infrastructure rather than competitive positioning:

• On regulatory philosophy: "Our long-held belief has always been that the right path forward for digital assets runs through robust, transparent regulation."
• On the dual-charter model: "Kraken Financial and what we are building with the OCC are complementary pillars of Payward's regulated banking strategy aimed at advancing an efficient and accessible digitally native financial system."

Why the OCC Charter Matters for Institutions

A national trust charter would allow Payward to qualify as a federally regulated custodian — a status many asset managers, pension funds, and corporations require before allocating capital to digital assets through a third-party custodian.

This is especially significant for large funds, pension plans, and hedge funds, as regulations require them to hold assets with qualified custodians. Unlike Kraken Financial's state-level SPDI structure, a federal charter eliminates the need to navigate individual state licensing requirements, streamlining access to the full U.S. market.

PNTC will not engage in deposit and lending activities like a traditional bank. Instead, the company will focus on institutional digital asset custody.

A Sector-Wide Regulatory Shift

Payward's application arrives amid a broader wave of crypto firms seeking federal banking authorization. The OCC has already issued conditional trust charters to several firms, including Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, Coinbase, and Crypto.com. So far, Anchorage Digital remains the only crypto firm with a full national trust charter.

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

Payward's Broader Infrastructure Push

The OCC filing is one piece of a wider expansion strategy. In recent years, Payward has expanded its regulated trading, derivatives, and cross-border payment infrastructure through acquisitions of NinjaTrader, Bitnomial, and Reap Technologies.

In May, Payward indicated it was roughly 80% ready for an initial public offering in the U.S. and targeted a possible listing by 2027, though no formal IPO timetable has been filed with regulators.

Payward has not disclosed a timeline for OCC review, projected capitalization for the trust, or staffing plans in the application.

Published by Coinplurk.com