A shift is taking place in how digital asset firms are becoming part of America’s financial system. Crypto.com has got conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter.
This move pushes the popular crypto exchange into federally regulated territory.
The OCC gave its approval on Monday, letting the company operate under the name Foris Dax National Trust Bank. The charter authorizes Crypto.com to custody client assets, offer staking services, and handle trade settlement, including for tokens on its in-house Cronos blockchain. The bank will not accept deposits or issue loans.
Co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek called it a milestone. “This conditional approval is the latest testament to our commitment to compliance,” he said, adding that the move brings the company closer to serving as a “gold standard” one-stop qualified custodian for institutional clients.
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Why the Charter Matters
Analysts say national trust bank status is critical for crypto-native firms looking to attract ETF issuers, asset managers, and other institutional players who strongly prefer custodians operating under federal oversight. Crypto.com already holds a qualified custodian license regulated by New Hampshire’s banking department, but the OCC charter consolidates its institutional offerings under a single federal framework.
A Growing Wave of Approvals
The company joins a growing list of firms that secured similar approvals in December, including BitGo, Circle, Ripple, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets. Stripe’s stablecoin firm Bridge received initial approval last week. Coinbase and World Liberty Financial—the Trump-backed crypto venture—have also filed applications, though the latter faces pushback from House Democrats over national security concerns.
The wave of approvals follows the OCC’s May decision that banks can hold crypto assets and the signing of the GENIUS Act. Traditional banking groups, however, are urging regulators to slow the pace and maintain safety standards before giving such approvals.
