Crypto.com Receives Preliminary Bank Trust Charter Approval from OCC
The cryptocurrency exchange platform Crypto.com seeks to launch federally regulated custody services for digital assets following conditional clearance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank trust charter.
The cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com announced on Monday that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted it conditional approval for a national bank trust charter.
According to a statement released on Monday, the digital currency platform indicated that upon receiving full approval as a federally regulated entity, it will be authorized to function as a custodian throughout the United States under the supervision of the OCC. The exchange filed its application in October, indicating at that juncture that its intentions included offering custody solutions for digital asset treasuries, exchange-traded funds, and additional services.
This conditional approval is the latest testament to both our commitment to compliance and to providing customers trusted and secure services they expect from Crypto.com
Kris Marszalek, Crypto.com co-founder and CEO
This approval arrived approximately two months following the OCC's conditional clearance of five national bank charter applications submitted by Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos, representing a notable policy advancement for the United States regulator. Coinbase, which similarly submitted an application in October, stated that it maintained "no intention of becoming a bank" should its application receive approval.
During this month, the American Bankers Association submitted a comment letter to the OCC requesting that the regulator postpone the issuance of new national trust bank charters for entities connected to digital assets until the regulatory framework for the payment stablecoin legislation enacted into law in July, the GENIUS Act, achieved full implementation.
The banking industry organization cautioned that every application review required "robust, broadly applicable safety and soundness standards," and emphasized that the OCC should "not measure its application decisioning progress against traditional timelines."
Given that the majority of state money transmission regulations provide exemptions for chartered trust companies, nationally chartered entities would probably be excluded from most state licensing obligations, according to BairdHolm attorney Eli Rosenberg who commented last month.
Crypto company tied to US President's family under scrutiny for bank charter application
World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency enterprise responsible for the USD1 stablecoin and supported by US President Donald Trump and his sons, submitted an application for a national bank trust charter via the OCC in January. The enterprise indicated that the charter, should it receive approval, would enable the company to issue and custody USD1 directly instead of relying on third-party service providers.
The application, which may be subject to influence by OCC head Jonathan Gould, has attracted scrutiny from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who expressed that she possessed "no confidence" the Trump appointee would conduct a fair evaluation of World Liberty's application. Gould maintained that the review of the company would constitute an "apolitical and nonpartisan process."