Crypto Exchanges
By James Thorp
1 / 15
What the Charter Actually Does. A national banking charter isn't just a piece of paper.
2 / 15
Timeline Remains Murky. No one's saying how long the review will take. The OCC doesn't move fast.
3 / 15
Broader Industry Shift. The push for banking charters reflects a bigger trend.
4 / 15
Kraken's parent company wants in. The firm just applied for a national banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, joining a growing list of crypto…
5 / 15
The application sits with the OCC now, waiting for review. If approved, Kraken would get the green light to offer banking services across all fifty states without needing to…
6 / 15
A national banking charter isn't just a piece of paper. It lets a company operate like a federally regulated bank, which means offering products and services that state-level…
7 / 15
Kraken's parent company didn't say exactly which services it plans to roll out if the OCC says yes.
8 / 15
The regulatory framework around crypto banking has changed a lot in recent years. The OCC started approving these charters as a way to bring digital asset firms into the…
9 / 15
No one's saying how long the review will take. The OCC doesn't move fast. Applications can sit for months, sometimes longer, while regulators poke through financials, compliance…
10 / 15
The outcome matters beyond Kraken. If the OCC approves this application, it sends a signal that crypto firms can still get federal banking charters even as the regulatory climate…
11 / 15
See also: Kraken Parent Payward Buys Hong Kongs Reap for $600M in Stablecoin Push
12 / 15
Other crypto companies are watching. Some probably have their own applications in the works.
13 / 15
Kraken's move comes at an interesting time. Crypto markets have been volatile, regulatory pressure has increased in some areas and eased in others, and institutional interest…
14 / 15
The firms that already got OCC approval have used their charters in different ways. Coinbase expanded its institutional custody business. Paxos built out stablecoin infrastructure.
15 / 15
The push for banking charters reflects a bigger trend. Crypto firms don't want to stay on the margins anymore.
The Currency Analytics
Want the full story?