ZeroHash applies for national trust bank charter to expand regulated stablecoin services

first published 2026-03-04T21:44:17Z

Chicago-based digital-asset infrastructure firm Zero Hash has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter to provide custody of digital assets and fiat, custodial staking, transfer-agent services and stablecoin management. The proposed trust bank—with Stephen Gardner named as proposed CEO—would join other crypto and fintech firms seeking federal trust charters. Zero Hash lists clients including Kalshi and BlackRock, earlier declined a reported $2 billion Mastercard acquisition, and is reportedly discussing a strategic investment.

AI Analysis

Zero Hash filed for an OCC national trust bank charter to custody digital assets and fiat and to offer custodial staking, transfer-agent services and stablecoin management (facts from summary). The filing positions the firm among other crypto and fintech entities pursuing federal trust charters and notes institutional clients (Kalshi, BlackRock). These are concrete business-expansion steps but not immediate market-moving events for tradable tokens, and trust banks cannot take deposits or issue loans (fact from summary).

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