Kraken has spent the past few months buying companies, launching new products, and making it very clear that it doesn’t want to be just another crypto exchange anymore. On Friday, it took the biggest step yet.
Payward, Kraken’s parent company, filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create a national trust company. If approved, the new entity, called Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), would operate as a federally regulated crypto bank under direct OCC oversight.
That’s not a rebrand or a marketing stunt. An OCC charter is what real banks operate under. It would put Kraken in the same regulatory category as traditional financial institutions, giving it the authority to offer federally regulated custody services for digital assets across all 50 states.
Co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed it as the logical next step. He said a national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure for next-generation custody.
What Would a Federal Crypto Bank Actually Do?
PNTC wouldn’t be a bank in the way most people think of one. It wouldn’t offer checking accounts, mortgages, or personal loans. Instead, it would focus on one specific and increasingly valuable service: custody.
Custody means securely storing digital assets on behalf of clients. When a pension fund, hedge fund, or asset manager wants to hold Bitcoin or Ethereum, they can’t just use a regular wallet. They need a regulated custodian that provides insurance, compliance, reporting, and legal protections. Without that, most institutional money stays on the sidelines.
Right now, the institutional custody market is dominated by a handful of players. BNY Mellon (which just launched crypto custody in Abu Dhabi), Coinbase, and Fidelity Digital Assets are among the biggest names. By securing a federal charter, Kraken would join that group and compete directly for institutional clients who require a federally regulated qualified custodian.
The key advantage of a national trust charter over a state-level licence is scope. A state charter limits where you can operate and what services you can offer. A federal charter from the OCC lets you operate nationwide under a single set of rules, which is exactly what large institutional clients want.
Building on What Kraken Already Has
This application doesn’t come out of nowhere. Kraken has been quietly building a regulatory infrastructure that most other exchanges can only dream of.
Back in 2020, Kraken Financial became the first digital asset company to receive a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter. It then went further, securing a Federal Reserve master account that gives it direct access to the US payments system, bypassing the need for intermediary banks.
The proposed federal trust company would sit alongside the Wyoming charter as what Sethi described as “complementary pillars” of Payward’s banking strategy. The Wyoming SPDI handles state-level banking functions. The OCC charter would handle federal-level custody for institutional clients. Together, they create a multi-layered regulatory structure that few crypto companies can match.
Add in the recent acquisitions, Bitnomial for $550 million (CFTC derivatives licences), NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion (institutional trading), and Reap Technologies for $600 million (stablecoin payments), and you start to see the full picture. Kraken is building a complete financial services company under a patchwork of federal and state licences.
A Race for Federal Charters
Kraken isn’t alone in this pursuit. The race for federal crypto banking charters has accelerated dramatically under the current administration’s more industry-friendly approach to regulation.
Coinbase received conditional OCC approval for a national trust charter in April 2026. Before that, the OCC advanced or approved applications from Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, Bridge, Crypto.com, and Zerohash between December 2025 and March 2026. That’s 11 crypto-related trust charter applications in roughly four months.
OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould has been openly supportive. He said new entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry, and the economy, and that they ensure a dynamic and competitive banking system.
For the crypto industry, this wave of federal charters represents a turning point. The companies that secure them will have a permanent structural advantage over those that don’t. Institutional clients overwhelmingly prefer working with federally regulated entities, and as the tokenisation market grows beyond $27 billion, the demand for qualified custodians is only going to increase.
What This Means for Kraken’s IPO Plans
The OCC application fits neatly into Kraken’s broader corporate strategy. The company confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC last year, and Sethi said at Consensus Miami this week that Kraken is roughly 80% ready for a public listing.
For an IPO candidate, having a federal banking charter is a significant advantage. It signals regulatory credibility, diversifies revenue beyond trading fees, and gives public market investors confidence that the company operates within a clear legal framework.
Kraken reported $2.2 billion in adjusted revenue in 2025, up 33% year-over-year, with $531 million in adjusted EBITDA. The company ended the year with 5.7 million funded accounts and $2 trillion in platform transaction volume. Those are IPO-ready numbers, and a federal charter would only strengthen the story.
If Kraken goes public with a national trust charter, CFTC derivatives licences, a stablecoin payments arm, and a Federal Reserve master account, it would arguably be the most comprehensively regulated crypto company to ever list on a US stock exchange.
What It Means for You
For everyday Kraken users, the OCC application won’t change your day-to-day experience right away. You’ll still buy, sell, and trade crypto the same way you do now.
But over time, a federally regulated Kraken trust company could unlock new services. Institutional-grade custody could eventually be offered to retail customers. Tokenised asset storage could become available as the RWA market grows. And the regulatory credibility that comes with a federal charter could attract more liquidity, more trading pairs, and more institutional participation on the platform, all of which benefit regular users indirectly.
The broader takeaway is that the line between crypto exchanges and traditional banks is disappearing. Kraken, Coinbase, and Ripple are all pursuing federal charters. BNY Mellon and Fidelity are offering crypto custody. The financial system is merging, and the companies that straddle both worlds most effectively will be the ones that define the next decade of finance.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
