Paxos Makes Landmark Play for National Trust Charter from OCC

Key Points

1. Paxos submitted an application to convert its New York state license into a national trust charter under the OCC, which would allow it to operate nationwide.

2. The OCC has recently relaxed restrictions on banks engaging with crypto, aligning with broader regulatory shifts under the GENIUS Act for digital assets.

3. Paxos operates under multiple international regulators, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Financial Supervisory Authority in Europe (FIN-FSA).

4. Other crypto firms like Circle and Ripple have also applied for national banking licenses, though past applicants like Protego Trust and an earlier Paxos application failed to meet OCC expectations.

5. Paxos recently settled with the New York State Department of Financial Services for $48.5 million over issues related to its former partnership with Binance on the BUSD stablecoin.