CoinDesk
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, a Friday announcement confirmed. If approved, the charter would create Payward National Trust Company, a federally regulated entity focused on fiduciary custody and related digital-asset services aimed primarily at institutional clients seeking bank-level protections under OCC oversight.
Co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the move as a structural necessity: "A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody." The proposed trust would sit alongside Kraken Financial, the Wyoming special purpose depository institution chartered in 2020 that became the first digital-asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account, giving Payward direct access to the U.S. payments system.
Why it matters
The OCC application is the latest data point in a deliberate multi-charter strategy. Payward has spent the past 18 months building out a regulated infrastructure footprint: a $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025, an April agreement to acquire derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million that brings a full CFTC stack covering brokerage, clearing and exchange operations, and a $600 million deal this week for Hong Kong-based payments firm Reap Technologies to push into stablecoin-powered cross-border payments and card infrastructure in Asia.
The OCC bid lands in a friendlier federal posture under the Trump administration, where crypto firms are increasingly pursuing national charters as a faster, more uniform path to legitimacy than state-by-state licensing. For Payward, the trust charter converts an already-regulated entity into a federally qualified custodian — the threshold most large institutional asset managers require before allocating to digital assets.
Frequently asked questions
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What is Payward's new OCC trust charter application?
Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust company charter. If approved, it would establish Payward National Trust Company, a federally regulated entity focused on fiduciary custody and related digital-asset services for…
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How does the OCC trust relate to Kraken's Wyoming SPDI?
The proposed OCC trust company would complement Kraken Financial, the Wyoming special purpose depository institution chartered in 2020 that became the first digital-asset bank to secure a Federal Reserve master account. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi described the two as complementary pillars of Payward's multi-charter strategy.
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Why is an OCC national trust charter important for institutional crypto clients?
A federally chartered trust company qualifies as a qualified custodian under existing rules, which is the threshold most large institutional asset managers, pensions and registered advisers require before allocating to digital assets. It also avoids the need to piece together state-by-state custody licences.
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What other regulated-infrastructure deals has Payward completed recently?
Payward's 18-month buildout includes a $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures platform NinjaTrader in 2025, an April agreement to acquire derivatives exchange Bitnomial for up to $550 million that adds a full CFTC stack, and a $600 million deal for Hong Kong-based payments firm Reap Technologies to expand…
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How does this fit into the broader trend of crypto firms pursuing federal charters?
The application lands in a more industry-friendly federal posture under the Trump administration, where crypto firms are increasingly pursuing national charters as a faster, more uniform path to legitimacy than state-by-state licensing. It also raises the competitive bar against Coinbase, Ripple and Circle, all…
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