Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on September 9 to establish Builders Bank & Trust, a federally regulated national trust bank for Bitcoin and stablecoin custody.
The proposed bank would operate as an uninsured national trust bank under OCC supervision. According to Block, the institution would not accept deposits or make loans, separating it from a conventional commercial bank.
Lee Woolley, Block’s digital asset strategy lead, is proposed to serve as Builders Bank president and CEO. The charter would provide Block’s custody operations a consistent national framework as the business expands, the company said.
Block brings existing experience in regulated financial services through Square Financial Services, its industrial bank subsidiary. The trust bank charter represents an expansion of the company’s digital asset infrastructure.
Multiple crypto and fintech companies are pursuing similar national trust bank charters. Ripple has received conditional approval for a charter. Circle and BitGo have each secured final approval. Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, and Zerohash, a crypto infrastructure provider, have also submitted applications to the OCC.
The OCC has not disclosed a timeline for reviewing Block’s application. Block did not specify the custody services Builders Bank would offer or the fee structure it would employ.
Block has faced operational headwinds in recent years. The company cut 40% of its workforce in a prior restructuring, according to related reporting.
