Crypto.com pushes for full federal banking status

Crypto.com has petitioned the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a National Trust Bank Charter, a move that would place it under federal supervision and mark one of the highest regulatory accolades attainable in the digital asset industry.

In an announcement on Oct. 24, Crypto.com said it had formally submitted its application to the OCC, seeking the authority to operate as a national trust bank.

The move, led by CEO Kris Marszalek, is framed as a strategic escalation of the platform’s long-standing focus on building regulated offerings, specifically targeting the custody and staking needs of large-scale institutional players.

Crypto.com’s deeper regulatory pivot

Crypto.com’s charter bid is the latest step in its long-running regulatory strategy. Just weeks earlier, on October 3, the exchange upgraded its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) to the stringent v4.0 certification, a critical enhancement for payment security that many in the financial industry have until next year to achieve.

Additionally, its U.S.-based custody arm, Crypto.com Custody Trust Company, recently secured SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II compliance attestations. These milestones, achieved in September, provide independent, institutional-grade assurance over its financial reporting controls and overall security posture, forming a layered foundation of trust for its current state-level operations in New Hampshire.

Crypto.com is far from alone in recognizing the strategic imperative of a federal charter. The race to secure this designation has become a defining trend for major crypto-native firms seeking deeper integration with the traditional financial system.

Anchorage Digital paved the way, becoming the first digital asset company to receive an OCC charter back in 2021. This year, however, has seen a significant acceleration in applications. Stablecoin giant Circle and token issuer Paxos have both filed, followed by Ripple in July and most recently, America’s largest exchange, Coinbase, which announced its application on October 3.