Dakota applies for US trust bank charter to issue stablecoins

Dakota, a stablecoin infrastructure company, said on August 3 that it has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter, according to Law360. The application for Dakota National Trust Bank was prepared by the law firm Paul Hastings.

If opened, the bank would provide fiduciary digital asset custody, issue dollar-denominated stablecoins and offer related services such as transaction settlement, according to the filed application reported by American Banker. The charter would not extend to depository services.

“Fewer intermediaries mean more control, more reliability and a cleaner experience for the people you serve,” chief executive Ryan Bozarth said in a message to customers cited by PYMNTS. The company currently operates as a registered money services business, with fiat banking supplied through bank partners including Lead Bank.

The OCC typically aims to complete its review of charter applications within about five months, Michele Alt, a partner at the consulting firm Klaros Group, told American Banker. Conditional approval would give the company 18 months to build out operations, secure final approval and open.

Dakota joins a queue of digital asset companies seeking federal banking oversight. Circle received full OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust Bank, and Bridge, the stablecoin unit owned by Stripe, obtained conditional approval in February. Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Crypto.com and Fidelity Digital Assets have also announced trust bank applications or ambitions.

The filings come ahead of the GENIUS Act taking full effect. Federal regulators missed the law’s one-year deadline for final implementing rules on July 18, leaving licensing, reserve and compliance requirements unresolved. Alt said the OCC is likely to issue final rules within the 18-month build-out window, making an early application a reasonable step for a company planning to issue stablecoins.