Crypto.com is edging closer to operating under a unified federal framework after securing conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank in the United States.
According to a Feb 23 announcement, the approval clears the path for the creation of Foris Dax National Trust Bank, which will do business as Crypto.com National Trust Bank once fully authorised.
Rather than functioning as a retail bank, the entity will be structured as a limited-purpose national trust bank, focusing exclusively on fiduciary and custodial services tied to digital assets.
Under the proposed structure, the bank will not accept cash deposits or extend consumer loans.
Its mandate will centre on custody of cryptocurrencies, trade settlement, and staking across multiple blockchain networks, including Crypto.com’s in-house Cronos chain.
What does this mean for Crypto.com?
Crypto.com submitted its application to the OCC in October 2025.
Since then, the company has worked with regulators to address capital, governance, compliance, and risk management standards required for national trust institutions.
A conditional approval signals that the framework has met initial supervisory expectations, though final authorisation remains subject to additional pre-opening requirements.
The national charter would allow Crypto.com to operate custody services under a single federal regime rather than relying on a patchwork of state licenses.
Meanwhile, existing operations will continue in parallel.
Crypto.com Custody Trust Company, currently regulated by New Hampshire’s banking department as a non-depository trust company, will maintain its services during the transition, the announcement said.
Crypto.com joins a growing list of digital asset firms pursuing federal trust status.
Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, and BitGo have all received conditional approvals in recent months.
Last week, stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge secured a similar approval.
Applications have picked up pace as institutional investors increasingly look for regulated custody options within the crypto space, a trend that has gathered momentum since the GENIUS Act became law.
Market participants are increasingly favouring federally supervised custodians when allocating capital to digital assets due to the standardised compliance frameworks and supervisory consistency.
For large asset managers, ETF issuers, and other institutional investors, national oversight is often regarded as a benchmark for legal clarity and operational consistency.
Nevertheless, Crypto.com and other market peers must still satisfy detailed conditions covering capital adequacy, internal controls, governance structures, and risk management systems before they can commence full operations.
Banking groups urge OCC to slow down
In the meantime, OCC’s recent approvals have drawn criticism from segments of the traditional banking sector.
Notably, the American Bankers Association has urged caution, arguing that the regulator should reconsider its approvals as key elements of the federal digital asset framework remain under development.
Banking groups contend that granting national trust charters to crypto-focused firms could create competitive imbalances if oversight standards diverge from those imposed on full-service banks.
Questions have also been raised about how emerging stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act will interact with trust bank structures, and whether further regulatory clarity should precede additional approvals.
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