Payward charter targets federal crypto bank status

Kraken’s parent Payward has filed a Payward charter application with the OCC to establish a federally regulated national trust company.

Kraken’s parent Payward has filed a Payward charter application with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, proposing a federally regulated entity called Payward National Trust Company. The filing was announced on May 8 alongside a statement from Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi.

If approved, Payward National Trust Company would provide bank-level digital asset custody to institutional clients who require a federally regulated qualified custodian. It would not take deposits or make loans in the traditional sense.

What the OCC charter means for Kraken

“A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody,” Sethi said. “This is not about being first; it is about getting the framework right.”

Sethi described the OCC application and Kraken’s existing Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution as “complementary pillars” of Payward’s regulated banking strategy. Kraken Financial, the Wyoming-chartered arm, secured a Federal Reserve master account in March 2026, the first crypto-native firm to gain direct access to the Fed’s payment rails.

The OCC has already issued conditional approvals to several crypto firms this cycle. Ripple, Circle, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets received conditional national trust bank charters in December 2025. Crypto.com received its own conditional OCC approval in February 2026.

Context and what comes next

Payward has been rapidly building out its regulated US infrastructure. Its acquisition of Bitnomial for up to $550 million added a full CFTC derivatives stack, while its $1.5 billion purchase of NinjaTrader in 2025 gave it retail futures access.

The Payward charter would extend that regulatory footprint to federal custody, completing a vertically integrated platform spanning trading, clearing, and safekeeping of digital assets.

The OCC approval process is expected to be thorough and multi-stage. Anchorage Digital remains the only crypto-native firm to hold a full national charter to date, with all other recent approvals still conditional.