Crypto.com Secures Conditional US Federal Bank Charter

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Crypto exchange Crypto.com has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a trust bank charter, marking a step toward operating under federal supervision in the United States.

The approval positions the company to offer a range of services under federal oversight, including custody, staking of assets across multiple blockchains and digital asset protocols, and trade settlement. The OCC charters banks, including trust banks, rather than exchanges directly, which allows Crypto.com to integrate banking operations with its broader crypto platform.

"This milestone brings us a major step closer to meeting leading institutions' needs for a one-stop-shop qualified custodian under a gold standard of federal oversight," said Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com. The company must still meet requirements related to capital, governance, compliance, and risk management before receiving final authorization.

Despite the conditional approval, Crypto.com will continue to provide custody services through its New Hampshire-regulated entity.

Crypto.com joins a number of crypto firms, including Circle, Ripple, and Paxos, in seeking federal bank charters, a trend aimed at simplifying crypto custody across varying state regulations. Notably, Crypto.com is the only major retail-focused platform among these, though it also maintains a presence in the institutional market.

In parallel with its banking efforts, Crypto.com has expanded into other areas, recently launching a standalone prediction markets platform following rapid growth in this segment over six months.