Kraken Parent Seeks OCC Banking Charter to Expand Digital Asset Services

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 company charter.

The move aims to establish a regulated framework for digital-asset custody and bridge the gap between crypto firms and traditional banking infrastructure. According to Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, a national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody.

Payward's OCC filing builds on its current Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) status established in Wyoming through Kraken Financial, as well as its Federal Reserve master account. The agency's leadership has attracted attention for deploying charters in this sector while considering other high-profile filings.