Kraken Parent Seeks OCC Charter for Digital Asset Custody

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust charter. This move would enable Payward to provide fiduciary custody and related services for digital assets on a nationwide basis.

The OCC has already granted similar charters to several companies, including Coinbase, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos, as part of its efforts to formalize the custody and settlement infrastructure for digital assets within the U.S. financial system.

A national trust charter would complement Payward's existing Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) framework and Federal Reserve master account, enabling a nationwide fiduciary custody service for digital assets. This combination is expected to strengthen the infrastructure required for institutions to custodian digital assets with formal supervisory oversight and interoperability within the regulated payments system.