Block Seeks OCC Approval for National Trust Bank for Bitcoin and Stablecoin Custody

Block, the financial technology company founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A., a national trust bank that would provide custody services for Bitcoin and stablecoins.

The proposed bank would be led by Lee Woolley, Block's digital asset strategy lead, who has over two decades of banking experience. The bank would not offer deposit-taking or uninsured services.

Block believes that the national charter would provide a consistent federal framework as its custody business scales and support its existing activities. Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. would be a federally supervised institution.