Payward, the parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) seeking to establish a national trust company.

 

If approved, the OCC will grant Payward federal fiduciary powers under the U.S. Trust Powers statute to establish the Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), allowing Payward to provide custodial services to institutional clients and individuals seeking regulated bank level custody and trust services for digital assets. Payward aims to leverage its existing infrastructure, risk management systems, compliance programs, and regulated affiliates to deliver institutional grade, secure, and compliant custodial services.

 

Speaking on the OCC application, Arjun Sethi, Co CEO of Payward and Kraken, said, “Our long held belief has always been that the right path forward for digital assets runs through robust, transparent regulation. A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody. This is not about being first. It is about getting the framework right so markets can scale with clarity, interoperability, and a long term vision for what clients will demand as these systems mature.”

 

The OCC application builds on the regulatory foundation that Payward has already established through Kraken Financial, one of its entities. Through Kraken Financial, Kraken achieved several milestones, including becoming the first crypto company to receive a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution charter. This allowed Kraken Financial to operate as a separate entity and become the first digital asset bank to gain access to the Federal Reserve payment system.

 

“Kraken Financial and what we are building with the OCC are complementary pillars of Payward’s regulated banking strategy aimed at advancing an efficient and accessible digitally native financial system,” said Arjun Sethi, Payward and Kraken co CEO.

 

“Our Wyoming SPDI and Federal Reserve master account represent a genuinely unique foundation, and the addition of a national trust company expands what we can offer our clients under an evolving U.S. regulatory framework.”

 

Kraken Joins Race to Offer Custodial Services

Payward is not the first crypto company to file an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as companies like Ripple, BitGo, Stripe, Crypto, and Coinbase have also filed, with some receiving conditional approvals to provide custodial services.

 

Morgan Stanley Digital Trust also filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in February of this year, seeking approval to provide digital asset custody, with the application currently pending.