Today in Crypto: Kraken Parent Payward Targets OCC Charter to Unlock Institutional Digital Asset Custody

Latest reporting indicates that payward, the parent company of Kraken, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust company charter aimed at expanding federally regulated custody services for digital assets.

If approved by the OCC, the new entity would operate as Payward National Trust Company, providing fiduciary custody and related services primarily for digital assets.

The company expects to serve both institutional clients and individual customers who require bank-level custody under federal oversight.

Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the move reflects a long-standing position that regulated infrastructure is the correct path for digital assets to scale.

“A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody,” Sethi said.

The OCC application builds directly on the regulatory groundwork Payward laid through Kraken Financial, its Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution.

Kraken Financial is widely noted as the first digital asset bank to hold a Federal Reserve master account, a distinction that gives Payward a rare foothold across both state and federal banking frameworks.

A Wyoming SPDI and a federally chartered national trust company are designed to serve different client needs and regulatory contexts.