Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form a federally chartered national trust bank, as the regulatory ice cap rapidly thaws.
The company joins five other digital asset firms - Fidelity Digital Assets, Circle, Ripple, Paxos, and BitGo - in receiving conditional approval from the OCC, after the first green lights were issued in December.
The current licences do not automatically authorize deposit-taking and lending activities.
Chasing institutional capital
This move is not about offering retail traders a better app interface. It is a calculated play for massive institutional capital. The conditional approval allows the exchange to move closer to offering digital asset custody and staking services under strict federal regulation.
In a 23 Feb statement announcing the move, Kris Marszalek, the co-founder and chief executive of Crypto.com, said it brings the company "a major step closer to meeting the needs of leading institutions for a one-stop-shop qualified custodian under a gold standard of federal oversight. "
In other words, Crypto.com wants to become the preferred vault for Wall Street.
The company submitted its application to the OCC in October 2025. Securing conditional approval in such a short timeframe shows how dramatically the regulatory environment has shifted in Washington. Under previous administrations, attempting to acquire a federal charter for a crypto-native firm was largely considered a fool's errand.
Now, federal regulators appear willing to bring digital asset custodians into the traditional banking fold rather than fighting them from the outside.
A shifting competitive landscape
For the broader market, this is a clear signal that the race for institutional dominance is escalating. Once fully approved, the new entity will operate as Foris Dax National Trust Bank and will handle trade settlement and the staking of assets across various blockchains, including Cronos, the company said.
Crypto.com is aggressively positioning itself alongside other major players attempting to legitimize their operations through traditional banking licences. The conditional approval currently has no impact on Crypto.com Custody Trust Company's continued operations as a state-regulated entity in New Hampshire. However, a federal charter elevates the exchange to an entirely different playing field, allowing it to bypass a patchwork of state-by-state regulations.
As legacy financial institutions tiptoe into the digital asset space, crypto-native firms are desperately trying to build the regulatory moats required to hold their ground.
If Crypto.com successfully finalizes this charter, it will force its competitors to either accelerate their own banking ambitions or risk being locked out of the lucrative institutional custody market altogether.
