Crypto.com looks up the OCC National Trust Bank Charter – what it means to crypto holders
Crypto.com has applied to the US office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a National Trust Bank Charter, a move it says will expand managed crypto-custody services for institutions.
On Friday’s announcement. The company did not provide a timeline of the review and said the application does not affect operations at Crypto.com Custody Trust Company, the New Hampshire-chartered, non-depository trust that already serves institutions as a qualified custodian.
A National Trust Bank is a limited purpose national bank regulated by the OCC for fiduciary powers. In practice, it can provide custody, custody and other assurance services throughout the country; It is not a full service commercial bank and does not take FDIC deposits or make traditional loans. The OCC framework recognizes charter banks that limit operations to trust activities under 12 USC § 27 (a), and the trust operations materials outline the assurance standards and recording requirements that apply.
There is a recent precedent. In 2021, the OCC conditionally approved the conversion of the Anchorage trust company to Anchorage Digital Bank, NA, pairing the decision with a detailed operating agreement—an example of the bespoke conditions attached to digital-asset trust charters. The OCC also gave preliminary conditional approval that year to the Paxos National Trust in New York.
Other major crypto companies have moved down this path in 2025.
Coinbase filed Early this month to organize Coinbase National Trust Company, a de novo, non-insured National Trust Company headquartered in New York, according to an application posted on the OCC’s Digital-Assets Licensing Portal. Circle applied on June 30 to establish the First National Digital Currency Bank, NA to carry USDC Reserves Oversight and Institutional Custody under an OCC Charter.
Not all routes are federal.
Gemini Trust Company operates under a New York Limited-Purpose Trust Charter Issued By the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on October 5, 2015-state oversight rather than an OCC National Trust Bank-and remains a reference for the state-charter model alongside bitlicense regimes.
For retail users, nothing changes immediately.
A filing is not an approval, and Crypto.com’s proposal targets institutional custody rather than consumer deposit accounts. If an OCC charter is approved and stands, the effects are likely to be indirect: federal supervision may make it simpler for large counterparties to use the trust services of a service provider under a set of rules, which may influence the market “plumbing” visible to everyday investors over time – how assets are separated and verified, what products appear through ETFs or advisors and how assets move across areas. It will not circulate the exchange to a bank that takes the deposit.
The OCC generally does not comment on pending applications. Previous crypto approvals came with applicable conditions and deadlines, emphasizing that outcomes are not guaranteed and that the scope of any charter is case-by-case.
