Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust company charter, according to a press release from the firm today, May 8.

If approved, the entity — Payward National Trust Company (PNTC) — would offer federally regulated custody and other services, mainly for digital assets.

“PNTC expects to serve institutional clients and individual customers seeking regulated, bank-level custody and trust services for digital assets,” the release notes.

Payward says the move would complement its existing banking arm, Kraken Financial, which is a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution and recently received a limited purpose Federal Reserve master account.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the “addition of a national trust company expands what we can offer our clients under an evolving U.S. regulatory framework.”

Just yesterday, the company announced that it has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments firm Reap Technologies for up to $600 million in cash and stock, adding card issuance, cross-border payments, and stablecoin treasury services to its B2B platform.

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