Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish its own trust bank, Crypto.com National Trust Bank.
This license allows the company to function as a national trust bank. It operates under a framework of federal oversight. According to a report from CriptoNoticias, the OCC approval process took about four months, considering the company submitted its formal application in October 2025.
With this license, the organization seeks to establish itself as a qualified custodian of choice for big capital. This banking structure will enable it to offer specialized services, including the storage and staking of assets in various digital currency networks and protocols, such as the exchange’s proprietary network, Kronos, and its namesake crypto asset, CRO. The commercial liquidation process is similar.
Chris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, said the development is in response to the needs of financial institutions with custodians operating under the “gold standard” of federal oversight. The primary objective is to serve digital asset treasury, exchange traded fund (ETF) issuers and institutional investors who require a high degree of legal guarantee.
“This conditional approval is the latest testament to both our commitment to compliance and providing the reliable and secure service that our customers expect from Crypto.com. (…) This is an important step in meeting the needs of major institutions seeking comprehensively qualified custodians under the gold standard of federal oversight,” he said.
This conditional approval is Does not affect current operations of Crypto.com Custody Trust Companycontinues to operate as a non-custodial trust company regulated by the New Hampshire Department of Banking.
The technical aspect of this license is that it allows companies to interact with the new legal framework. Becoming a federally chartered institution will allow us to issue payment stablecoins that strictly adhere to the parameters of the Clarity Act.
The move puts the company in the same competitive situation as other companies in the space, including Ripple, which has completed the process of obtaining a banking license from the OCC to strengthen its payments and custody infrastructure.
Crypto.com National Trust Bank is estimated to complete final OCC requirements to begin full-scale operations, which will mark a new stage in the regulatory maturation of crypto-asset-based financial services in the United States.
Crypto.com currently ranks 11th among the world’s largest crypto exchanges with a trading volume of approximately $1.52 billion per day.