Kraken’s Parent Company Seeks National Trust Charter for Digital Asset Custody
- Payward, Kraken’s parent company, has applied for a national trust company charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
- If approved, it will establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), focusing on fiduciary custody services for digital assets.
- The trust aims to provide bank-level custody protections primarily for institutional clients.
- This move is part of a broader strategy to expand Payward’s regulatory footprint and offer multi-charter financial services.
- Payward has also made significant acquisitions, including a $550 million deal for Bitnomial and a $600 million acquisition of Reap Technologies.
The application reflects an increasing trend among crypto firms to seek federal charters as they navigate evolving regulations around digital assets and custody solutions.
With this OCC charter application, Payward aims to enhance its infrastructure alongside its existing Wyoming SPDI charter, which secured direct access to the U.S. payments system.(Source)
