Payward files with OCC for national trust

TLDR

Payward, the parent of Kraken, has applied to the US OCC for a national trust company charter to create a federally regulated digital asset custodian, Payward National Trust Company.

1. Payward is seeking an OCC national trust charter so Payward National Trust Company can offer federally regulated digital asset custody to institutional and high value clients.
2. The charter would sit alongside Kraken Financials Wyoming bank charter and Fed master account as part of a multi charter, IPO ready banking strategy.
3. Approval is not guaranteed, and the review will signal how far US bank regulators are willing to go in integrating large crypto firms into the federal banking system.

Deep Dive

1. What Payward Is Applying For

Payward has filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust company charter that would create Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), a federally supervised trust bank focused on digital assets. Reports say PNTC would act as a qualified custodian, delivering bank level, fiduciary crypto custody and trust services for institutions and some individuals, under direct OCC oversight and federal banking standards. Public statements from co CEO Arjun Sethi frame the move as about "certainty" and long term custodial infrastructure for institutions, rather than retail trading expansion.

2. How It Fits Krakens Banking Strategy

Kraken already operates Kraken Financial, a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution that recently secured a Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to Fed payment rails. A national trust charter would complement that state charter, letting Payward operate a federally regulated custodian that can serve clients more uniformly across the US, rather than navigating state by state regimes. At the same time, Payward has been buying regulated infrastructure - including derivatives venue Bitnomial and payments firm Reap Technologies - which analysts see as preparation for a potential IPO and deeper integration with traditional finance.

3. Industry Context And What To Watch

The OCC has already granted or advanced similar national trust charters for several crypto firms, including Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets, so Payward is joining a small but growing club of "crypto plus federal bank charter" players. Banking trade groups have pushed back on this model in the past, arguing that OCC trust charters for crypto firms stretch federal licensing rules, so conditions or political scrutiny could slow or reshape approval. For crypto users, the key signals to watch are: whether the OCC grants the charter, what restrictions it attaches, and whether Kraken starts marketing PNTC style qualified custody more aggressively to institutions, which would reinforce the "crypto as part of the banking system" narrative.

Conclusion

Paywards OCC filing is a strategic step to turn Kraken from a large regulated exchange into a full stack, bank integrated digital asset platform, with custody at its core. If regulators approve the national trust charter on reasonable terms, it would strengthen institutional confidence in holding crypto with Kraken, and it would confirm that US bank supervisors are willing to keep expanding the federal charter path for large crypto firms.