Crypto.com said it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, laying the groundwork for the exchange to expand custody services under federal oversight.
The planned Foris Dax National Trust Bank will do business as Crypto.com National Trust Bank and will operate as a limited purpose National Trust Bank. It does not accept deposits or issue loans, but instead provides services such as digital asset custody, staking and trade settlement, including on its in-house Cronos blockchain.
While Crypto.com already operates a qualified custodian, Crypto.com Custody Trust Co., and is regulated by the New Hampshire Department of Banking, the OCC charter places its institutional offerings under a single federal framework.
This is important to exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers, asset managers and other institutional clients, who often prefer state-supervised custodians that simplify compliance and operational processes.
The national charter provides a one-stop service structure, but only applies to trust services and not traditional banking.
Crypto.com submitted its application to the OCC in October. While the conditional approval is not final, it marks an important step forward. Last week, Bridge, a stablecoin company owned by Stripe, also received preliminary approval to form a national trust bank.
The approvals see the companies join a growing number of cryptocurrency companies seeking to establish within a federal framework. In December, BitGo, Circle, Ripple, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets all received similar conditional approvals.
