Crypto.com Files for National Bank Charter Following Circle, Stripe and Coinbase

Crypto exchange Crypto.com has filed a national trust bank charter application with the Office of the Currency Comptroller (OCC), the firm announced on Friday. 

The application puts the firm on a growing list of crypto companies—like USDC issuer Circle, crypto exchange Coinbase, and Bridge, the stablecoin arm of private payments company Stripe—which have also sought the national bank charter.

“Building the Crypto.com product and service portfolio through regulated and secure offerings has been our focus since day one,” said Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek, in a statement. “We are excited to take this next step by filing for a national trust bank charter and look forward to continuing to pursue opportunities to provide customers with the trusted services they require.”

If approved, the charter would strengthen Crypto.com’s case as the “custody service destination of choice,” the firm said. 

Crypto firms have been filing for national trust bank charters since earlier this year, when the OCC gave banks approval to buy, sell, and manage crypto assets in their custody. This month, the Peter Thiel-backed crypto bank Erebor became the first to earn a conditional federal charter, making it the second to ever do so after Anchorage Digital. 

Further crypto-friendly banking developments were detailed this week when Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the Fed is exploring the issuance of “skinny master accounts” on an expedited timeline to firms that haven’t been able to secure a full one.

Master accounts, which are managed by federally chartered banks, provide access to the Fed and allow for direct payments. Historically, crypto institutions have tried, but ultimately failed to earn them.

The so-called “skinny” master accounts would come with some limitations, like not including the privileges of interest payments on account balances or overdraft protection. 

Earlier this year, Crypto.com relaunched its institutional exchange amid renewed crypto regulatory optimism in the U.S. with the return of the Trump administration. The firm is also making a play in prediction markets, though it was hit with a regulatory setback earlier this month when a Nevada judge ruled against an injunction request.