Payward filed a Kraken OCC charter application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency this week, joining a cluster of crypto firms moving into regulated banking infrastructure. The Kraken parent said the filing, if approved, would let it offer fiduciary custody and related services for digital assets through a national trust company structure. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi described the move as getting the framework right rather than chasing a first-mover stamp.
The Kraken OCC charter, if approved, would establish Payward National Trust Company. That puts the exchange in the same regulatory category as Coinbase, Ripple Labs, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos, all of which secured similar charters from the OCC in December. The agency, now headed by Trump nominee Jonathan Gould, has approved a run of these structures over recent months. Sethi’s line about not being first carries some weight when six competitors already have the licence.
| Company | Charter Type | Approval Date | Services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | National Trust | December 2024 | Custody |
| Ripple Labs | National Trust | December 2024 | Custody |
| Circle | National Trust | December 2024 | Custody |
| Fidelity Digital Assets | National Trust | December 2024 | Custody |
| Payward (Kraken) | National Trust | Application filed | Custody |
What the Kraken OCC Charter Would Unlock
A national trust charter gives institutions direct access to US payment rails and federal oversight. That matters for the type of counterparty that requires regulatory certainty before parking assets with a crypto custodian. Real money managers, pension funds, insurance companies. They need the wrapper. Payward already operates a Special Purpose Depository Institution in Wyoming through Kraken Financial and holds a Federal Reserve master account, so it’s not starting from scratch. The OCC charter would layer federal supervision on top of that state-level structure.
Sethi’s comment about getting the framework right speaks to the compliance drag that comes with scaling a crypto business in the current environment. The regulatory perimeter around digital assets has tightened considerably since 2022. Getting the charter means getting inside that perimeter, which simplifies the conversation with institutional counterparties. Clarity and interoperability are not marketing terms when you’re dealing with pension-fund lawyers.
OCC Approvals Under Scrutiny
The Kraken OCC charter application follows similar approvals for Coinbase, Ripple Labs, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos in December. That run of approvals has drawn attention, particularly as the OCC weighs an application from World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by Trump and his sons. The optics are awkward. Gould’s nomination came from the same administration that holds a financial interest in one of the applicants. The agency has said it evaluates applications on their merits. The timing is what it is.
Payward’s application builds on existing infrastructure rather than starting cold. The Wyoming SPDI already provides state-level regulatory cover. The Fed master account provides payment-system access. The OCC charter would federalise the custody business and bring it under national bank supervision. For Kraken, that’s the infrastructure play. For the OCC, it’s another crypto firm inside the regulated tent.
IPO Plans Still Live
Sethi said in May that Kraken was roughly 80% ready for a public listing by 2027. The exchange has closed acquisition deals with Bitnomial and announced an agreement to buy Reap, both of which point toward expanding its US derivatives capability. An IPO would follow the same pattern as Coinbase, which went public in 2021 and trades as a leveraged bet on crypto prices. Kraken’s revenue model is similar: spot trading fees, staking yield, custody income. Getting the OCC charter framework right means markets can scale with clarity, according to Sethi. It also means the IPO pitch gets cleaner.
The Kraken OCC charter would build on its Wyoming SPDI licence through Kraken Financial. The company already holds the Fed master account. The federal trust charter is the last structural piece before a public offering. The Kraken OCC charter application lands whilst the agency weighs World Liberty Financial’s filing. Next gate is approval timing. OCC review cycles vary. Six approvals in December suggest the process has accelerated under the current administration.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Readers should not act on any information contained here without first consulting an authorised financial adviser. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
