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 Paywards 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 administrations more industry-friendly approach to digital-asset regulation. Krakens 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