We have filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) to obtain a national trust company charter. If approved, the application would create Payward National Trust Company (“PNTC”), which would provide escrow and other services primarily for digital assets.
PNTC plans to serve institutional and individual clients seeking bank-level regulated custody and trust services for digital assets, leveraging Payward’s existing infrastructure, risk management, compliance programs and regulated affiliates to provide services in a secure and compliant manner.
This application marks Payward’s latest step in building a strong federal regulatory infrastructure for digital assets as the U.S. regulatory landscape continues to mature. A national trust company charter would establish a federally regulated custodian offering under OCC oversight, expanding access to institutional clients who need a qualified federally regulated custodian and allowing Payward to serve a broader range of clients across the United States.
“Our long-held belief has always been that the right path forward for digital assets is through strong and transparent regulation,” said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken. “A national trust provides the certainty that institutions need and establishes the infrastructure needed to build the next generation of custody services. It’s not about being first; it’s about putting the right framework in place so that markets can evolve with clarity, interoperability and a long-term vision for what customers will demand as these systems mature.”
A multi-charter strategy built for each client, each market
The OCC application builds on the regulatory foundation that Payward has already established through Kraken Financial, its Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI). A Wyoming SPDI and a national trust company would serve different and complementary purposes.
“Kraken Financial and what we are building with OCC are complementary pillars of Payward’s regulated banking strategy to advance an efficient and accessible digital native financial system,” Sethi said. “Our Wyoming and Federal Reserve SPDI Master Account represent a truly unique foundation, and the addition of a national trust company expands what we can offer our clients in an evolving U.S. regulatory environment.”
