Block Seeks National Trust Charter for Crypto Custody Services

Block, led by CEO Jack Dorsey, is seeking a national trust charter to offer crypto custody services. The company has submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Builders Bank and Trust, which would provide custody for both Bitcoin and stablecoins.

The move marks the latest in a series of requests from fintechs and traditional financial firms seeking trust charters focused on managing digital assets. Block's charter application is pending approval from regulators, and it would be separate from the company's current Industrial Loan Company (ILC) charter.

According to KBCM analysts, Block already self-custodies Bitcoin in most cases, so the charter is likely primarily about federal preemption supporting better scale with growth at the federal regulatory level versus state-level patchwork. The same entity could extend into tokenized-asset custody and settlement, which would be a longer-dated optionality for the company.

Block has not signaled any plans to tokenize deposits, despite other digital-asset focused firms and banks exploring this use case. Dorsey has previously expressed support for Bitcoin but a dimmer view of stablecoins. However, the company has still supported both forms in its products and is now including them in its trust bank business plan.