Anchorage Custodian Sees National Charter From US Bank Regulator

Digital asset Anchorage custodian is seeking a national charter from the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as crypto and banking worlds are getting closer so let’s find out more in our crypto news.

The startup’s trust company branch is based in South Dakota and applied to the OCC in order to convert to a national bank according to a press release posted to the regulator’s website. The notice contained little detail but It said that the Anchorage Custodian platform represented by Dana Syracuse of the law firm Perkins Coie, seeks a national charter. Syracuse is a former general counsel of the New York Department of Financial Services which helped the agency in drafting the landmark BitLicense regulation.

NEWS–Anchorage Trust Co filed for bank charter tonight. Yep playing out as expected–all US #crypto custodians need bank charters. SEC news last wk cast doubt on if state trust charter is #qualifiedcustodian, but a bank clearly is. @AvantiBT is way ahead! https://t.co/K3bc6FxcsE

— Caitlin Long 🔑 (@CaitlinLong_) November 17, 2020

This year, Kraken, the popular crypto exchange became the first platform to conduct such business by demanding a US Banking license from Wyoming. If the application is approved, Anchorage will be the first company in crypto to get a national bank charter, allowing it to do business in all 50 states. The banking charter will give Anchorage a clear authority to act as a qualified custodian for institutional investors under the Securities and Exchange Commission rules. Most of the crypto custody companies in the US have trust company licenses but the SEC said that it is not sure whether these entities regulated at state levels will be less stringent than banks.

Anchorage’s app came at a time when the OCC which is an agency that exists since the Civil War, could be receptive to these requests. Brian Brooks, the acting comptroller since May, and is a former chief legal officer for Coinbase, was focusing on clearing the way for banks to enter the crypto world and he also criticized lawmakers for spending a lot of time in this niche during a pandemic.

Brooks’ agency even issued a letter clearing the way for banks to protect private cryptographic keys for digital currency wallets which is a business that was seen as the province of specialist companies like Anchorage. Nathan McCauley, co-founder of Anchorage and CEO said:

 “Anchorage is encouraged by the recent positive progress out of the OCC with respect to regulatory clarity around custody of digital assets. We are interested in obtaining an OCC charter as a way to better serve the emerging needs of large banks looking to integrate crypto to bring the benefits of Bitcoin and other digital assets to their client base.”