Payward, the parent company behind Kraken, said it has filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust company charter, a step that would give the group a federally regulated custody entity for digital assets if approved.

What the filing would create

According to Payward's announcement, the proposed entity would be called Payward National Trust Company and would offer fiduciary custody and related services focused primarily on digital assets. The company said the trust is meant to serve institutions and other clients that want bank-level custody protections under direct OCC oversight.

Payward framed the application as an expansion of infrastructure it already uses across custody, compliance, and risk management rather than a new consumer bank launch. The most conservative verified reading is that this is a custody and trust push, not an announcement that Kraken is becoming a deposit-taking commercial bank.

Why it matters

If the charter is approved, Payward would add a federal trust structure to the Wyoming banking footprint it already controls through Kraken Financial, its special purpose depository institution. In March, Kraken said that Wyoming-chartered bank became the first digital asset bank to receive a Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to core U.S. payment rails.

Together, those pieces point to a broader multi-charter strategy: one state-regulated banking vehicle with Fed connectivity, and one proposed federally supervised trust company for custody. For institutional crypto clients, that could matter more than marketing claims because qualified-custodian status and consistent oversight are still major gating issues.