Payward Files Application for OCC National Trust Company, Deepening Commitment to Regulated Digital Asset Infrastructure

Application complements Kraken Financial, the first digital asset bank to hold a Federal Reserve master account

CHEYENNE, Wyo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Payward, Inc., a unified financial infrastructure platform advancing an open, global financial system, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) for a national trust company charter. If approved, the application would establish Payward National Trust Company ("PNTC"), which would provide fiduciary custody and other services primarily for digital assets. PNTC expects to serve institutional clients and individual customers seeking regulated, bank-level custody and trust services for digital assets, leveraging Payward's existing infrastructure, risk management, compliance programs, and regulated affiliates to deliver services in a secure and compliant manner.

This application marks Payward's latest step in building out a robust federal regulatory infrastructure for digital assets, as the U.S. regulatory landscape continues to mature. A national trust company charter would establish a federally regulated custody offering under OCC oversight, expanding access for institutional clients who require a federally regulated qualified custodian and enabling Payward to serve a broader range of clients across the United States.

"Our long-held belief has always been that the right path forward for digital assets runs through robust, transparent regulation," said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken. "A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody. This is not about being first; it is about getting the framework right so markets can scale with clarity, interoperability, and long-term vision for what clients will demand as these systems mature."

A Multi-Charter Strategy Built for Every Client, Every Market

The OCC application builds on the regulatory foundation Payward has already established through Kraken Financial, its Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI). A Wyoming SPDI and a national trust company would serve different and complementary purposes.

"Kraken Financial and what we are building with the OCC are complementary pillars of Payward's regulated banking strategy aimed at advancing an efficient and accessible digitally native financial system," said Arjun Sethi. "Our Wyoming SPDI and Federal Reserve master account represent a genuinely unique foundation, and the addition of a national trust company expands what we can offer our clients under an evolving U.S. regulatory framework.”

About Payward

Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that powers a family of products advancing an open, global financial system. Built on a single shared architecture, Payward enables customers to hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without friction or fragmentation.

At its core, Payward provides the infrastructure layer behind Kraken and a growing set of purpose-built products, including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Bitnomial and CF Benchmarks.

Payward separates infrastructure from product expression. Each product surface is designed for a specific customer segment, regulatory regime, and use case, while benefiting from shared infrastructure including global liquidity, a unified risk and margin engine, common collateral and settlement systems, and consistent operational standards.

This shared architecture allows Payward to scale efficiently, launch new products at low marginal cost, and serve diverse global markets while maintaining consistent risk management, regulatory integrity, and operational resilience. For more information about Payward, please visit www.payward.com.