PANews reported on May 9th that Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust company license to establish Payward National Trust Company, aiming to expand its federally regulated digital asset custody business. The trust company will primarily serve institutions and clients seeking bank-grade custody protection under OCC regulation. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated that the national trust company provides institutions with the certainty they need and lays the foundation for building next-generation custody infrastructure.

This application is Kraken's latest move to seek a federal license in the Trump administration's more favorable regulatory environment for the crypto industry. The proposed trust company would complement Kraken's 2020 Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution license, which already has a master account with the Federal Reserve and direct access to the U.S. payment system. Payward views this OCC application as part of a "multi-license" strategy aimed at providing financial services regulated by both state and federal authorities.