Zerohash seeks national trust bank charter from OCC

Following the lead of other digital asset companies seeking a national trust bank charter, crypto infrastructure firm zerohash has submitted an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Zerohash's national trust bank wants to provide digital asset services such as "custody over digital assets, fiat currency, and other assets; custodial staking and validation activities; transfer agent services; trade execution; stablecoin management; and settlement, clearing, and escrow services."

Stephen Gardner, zerohash's chief legal officer, has been proposed as the chief executive officer of the trust bank.

The application follows also seeking to form federally regulated trusted banks, including Ripple, Circle, and BitGo — all of which received conditional approval from the OCC in December.

Securing the charter would not allow zerohash to offer traditional banking activities such as accepting deposits or making loans. Approval, however, could help attract more institutional clients, as the charter would allow the company to operate under federal supervision.

Last month, zerohash added support for the Monad blockchain and USDC on Monad to its crypto infrastructure platform. The integration means the company's clients, including prediction markets platform Kalshi, can build and launch stablecoin-based payment flows without running blockchain infrastructure or securing their own regulatory licenses.