The Payward-owned exchange submitted the application to the OCC on Friday, aiming to offer custody services under a national trust charter. The move could reshape institutional crypto access.
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Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, submitted a formal application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday, May 8, 2026, seeking a national trust company charter. The filing, made public the same day, marks a strategic push to offer custody services for digital assets under a single federal regulatory umbrella, rather than navigating a state-by-state licensing maze.
The application seeks a national trust charter, a designation that allows a firm to operate as a non-depository trust company across all 50 states without needing separate state-level approvals. Kraken already operates a state-chartered trust company, Kraken Financial, out of Wyoming, but that entity is limited to serving clients within Wyoming’s borders unless it secures additional state licenses. A federal charter from the OCC would preempt that patchwork, giving Kraken a unified national footprint for custody, escrow, and related fiduciary services. The OCC has granted a small number of such charters to crypto-focused firms in the past, though the process has been slow and subject to shifting political winds.
The move comes at a time when institutional demand for regulated crypto custody is rising, but the U.S. regulatory framework remains fragmented. A national trust charter would position Kraken as a federally supervised custodian, a status that many pension funds, endowments, and asset managers require before allocating capital to digital assets. It could also open a path to Federal Reserve master account access, which would let Kraken settle payments directly with the central bank rather than through intermediary banks. For the broader crypto market, a successful application would signal that the OCC is willing to expand the federal perimeter for digital asset custody, potentially drawing more traditional finance players into the space.
Kraken has offered custody services for years, but primarily through its exchange infrastructure and the Wyoming trust charter. A national charter would let it scale those services to institutional clients nationwide without the legal uncertainty that comes with state-level money transmitter licenses. The competitive landscape is already heating up: federally chartered crypto custodians like Anchorage Digital have built substantial institutional businesses, and large banks are exploring custody through their own trust charters. If Kraken secures OCC approval, it could pressure other major exchanges to pursue the same route, accelerating a shift toward bank-like regulation for crypto platforms. This trend is reshaping the best crypto brokers landscape, as custody and trading become increasingly bundled under regulated entities.
The OCC will now review Kraken’s application, a process that typically includes a public comment period, a deep dive into the applicant’s business plan, capital adequacy, and risk management frameworks. The timeline is uncertain–it can range from several months to well over a year. Political factors will play a role: the OCC’s appetite for crypto charters has varied with administration changes, and any congressional pushback could slow the process. The agency will also scrutinize how Kraken plans to segregate custody assets, maintain insurance, and comply with anti-money laundering rules. Conditions attached to any approval would set a precedent for future applicants.
The immediate next catalyst is the OCC’s acknowledgment of the filing and the opening of the comment window. Traders and industry participants should monitor statements from OCC officials and key lawmakers for signals on whether the federal path is genuinely open. For Kraken, the charter represents a transformative step that could redefine its competitive position, but the road to approval is long and the outcome far from certain.
Drafted by the AlphaScala research model and grounded in primary market data – live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.