Kraken Parent Payward Targets OCC Charter to Unlock Institutional Digital Asset Custody

"Payward, the parent company of Kraken, filed an OCC application to establish a national trust company for institutional digital asset custody. The proposed Payward National Trust Company would complement Kraken Financial, which holds a Federal Reserve master account as a Wyoming SPDI. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi says the multi-charter strategy positions Payward to serve a broader range of U.S. clients as federal digital asset rules continue to develop in 2025."

"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."

"Our Wyoming SPDI and Federal Reserve master account represent a genuinely unique foundation, and the addition of a national trust company expands what we can offer our clients under an evolving U.S. regulatory framework, Sethi remarked. The national trust charter, if granted, would establish Payward as a federally regulated qualified"

Payward, the parent of Kraken, filed an OCC application to establish a national trust company focused on institutional digital asset custody. The proposed Payward National Trust Company would complement Kraken Financial, which holds a Federal Reserve master account as a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution. If approved, the new entity would provide fiduciary custody and related services primarily for digital assets under federal oversight. The plan targets institutional clients and individual customers seeking bank-level custody. Payward positions the multi-charter approach as a way to serve a broader range of U.S. clients as federal digital asset rules develop. The national trust charter is presented as regulated infrastructure intended to support scaling and next-generation custody capabilities.

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