Kraken parent applies for national trust bank charter

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust charter.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi wrote Friday in a blog post that the charter, if approved, would establish Payward National Trust, which would provide fiduciary custody and other services for crypto.

“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,” Sethi wrote in his blog.

Kraken is one of several crypto firms seeking a national trust charter. Ripple, Paxos, Crypto.com, and Coinbase have obtained charter approvals.