Payward Inc., the unified financial ecosystem that powers the Kraken platform, has officially applied for a national trust charter (NTC) from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The proposed company, “Payward National Trust Company (PNTC),” would provide fiduciary custody and other services related to predominantly digital assets, operating under federal oversight.
Per its announcement, PNTC plans to use the infrastructure, risk management, and compliance programs that Payward has built out to support institutional clients and retail customers who require regulated, bank-level custody of their assets.
What the OCC national trust charter allows
An OCC national trust charter would create an OCC-supervised federally-regulated custody service that would allow institutional clients who require a qualified custodian access to a broader array of customers throughout the United States and have the security of knowing that there is oversight from the federal government.
Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, comments, “A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody. This is not about being first; it is about getting the framework right so markets can scale with clarity, interoperability, and long‑term vision.”
Multi-charter approach to building a regulatory framework
On this matter, the OCC application builds on Payward’s existing regulatory foundation through Kraken Financial, its Wyoming special purpose depository institution (SPDI), which holds a Federal Reserve(Fed) master account. Moreover, under Payward’s multi‑charter strategy, the Wyoming SPDI and a national trust company serve different but complementary purposes.
Sethi noted that “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.”
Next steps
After reviewing Payward’s national trust company application, the OCC will grant or deny the right to operate PNTC; if granted, Payward will be able to operate PNTC under both the State and Federal Charters, making Payward one of the very few digital asset companies that will have both state (Wyoming SPDI) and Federal (OCC) charters, a rare combination in the digital asset space.
“Kraken Financial and what we are building with the OCC are complementary pillars of Payward’s regulated banking strategy aimed at advancing an efficient and accessible digitally native financial system. 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,” said Arjun Sethi.
