# Block Applies for OCC National Trust Charter to Form Builders Bank for Digital Custody Source: TechNewsList (https://technewslist.com) Canonical URL: https://technewslist.com/en/article/block-applies-occ-charter-builders-bank-trust-2026-09-10-night Section: Fintech (https://technewslist.com/en/fintech) Author: TechNewsList Language: en Published: 2026-09-10T19:59:42.414+00:00 Updated: 2026-09-10T19:59:42.578931+00:00 > Block Inc. applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Builders Bank & Trust, creating an uninsured national trust institution for Bitcoin and stablecoin custody. ## TL;DR - Block Inc. submitted a formal application to the OCC to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. as an uninsured national trust bank. - The institution will operate purely as a fiduciary custodian for Bitcoin and stablecoins, eschewing consumer deposits and lending. - Proposed CEO Lee Woolley will lead the bank's federal compliance program and direct institutional settlement operations. - The federal charter replaces a complex patchwork of state-level money transmitter licenses with unified nationwide oversight. ## Key points - Block Inc. filed charter application documents with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on September 8, 2026. - Builders Bank & Trust will operate under federal trust authority without Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation deposit insurance. - Custody operations will center on institutional Bitcoin storage, merchant stablecoin clearing, and corporate balance sheet reserves. - Jack Dorsey's broader corporate strategy seeks to unify digital asset services across Square, Cash App, and institutional clients. - The bank will not issue loans or accept demand deposits, eliminating credit risk and classic liquidity run vulnerabilities. - Banking analysts expect the application to establish a decisive regulatory precedent for non-depository fintech trust charters. ## What happened In a landmark regulatory filing that could reshape the institutional digital asset landscape, Block Inc. formally submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on September 8, 2026, to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. The proposed entity is chartered as an uninsured national trust institution designed specifically to provide digital asset custody and fiduciary settlement services across the United States. According to regulatory filings, Builders Bank & Trust will operate as a limited-purpose national bank under the National Bank Act. Unlike conventional commercial banks, the institution will neither accept retail demand deposits nor originate commercial or personal loans. Instead, it will focus exclusively on safeguarding, custodying, and administering Bitcoin and stablecoin reserves on behalf of corporate clients, institutional investors, and affiliated business units. ![Digital asset custody framework diagram highlighting Bitcoin and stablecoin reserves under federal trust oversight.](https://rkhynbcsbnkkcwgexzwg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1789070376758-jsbo78-block-applies-occ-charter-builders-bank-trust-2026-09-10-night-inside-1-6647ce7224.webp) Block has named Lee Woolley, the company's head of digital asset strategy and former chief executive of Treasury Department Federal Credit Union, as the proposed president and chief executive officer of Builders Bank & Trust. Woolley brings extensive banking, wealth management, and regulatory compliance experience to the venture, having previously served in senior executive roles at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon. ## Why it matters Securing an OCC national trust charter represents the highest standard of federal regulatory legitimacy available to a digital asset institution in the United States. For years, fintech operators and crypto custody providers have operated under a fragmented patchwork of state money transmitter licenses and state-chartered trust frameworks, each carrying divergent capital adequacy requirements, examinations, and jurisdictional limitations. A national trust charter confers federal preemption, allowing Builders Bank & Trust to operate uniformly across all fifty states under direct supervision from the OCC. This uniform standard dramatically reduces regulatory overhead, eliminates multi-state licensing friction, and provides corporate clients with the legal certainty required to hold substantial digital balance sheet reserves with a federally supervised fiduciary. Furthermore, by intentionally structuring the bank as a non-depository trust that does not seek FDIC insurance, Block circumvents the regulatory skepticism traditionally directed toward fintech firms seeking consumer deposit charters. Because Builders Bank & Trust will not engage in fractional-reserve banking or credit intermediation, it is structurally insulated from liquidity runs and bank failures that previously afflicted regional lenders. ## Technical details At the operational core of Builders Bank & Trust is Block's proprietary cold storage infrastructure, which combines distributed multisignature custody architectures with hardware security modules and offline key generation protocols. The trust institution will integrate directly with Cash App and Square merchant payment rails, providing seamless automated settlement between fiat and digital currency holdings. Under the OCC's trust framework, digital assets held in custody by Builders Bank & Trust will be legally classified as fiduciary property rather than general bank liabilities. In the unlikely event of insolvency, client assets are held strictly off the bank's balance sheet, ensuring they cannot be encumbered or claimed by corporate creditors—a critical legal protection that addresses the primary counterparty risk experienced during recent crypto exchange collapses. ![Block headquarters and fintech ecosystem architecture spanning Square, Cash App, and institutional custody.](https://rkhynbcsbnkkcwgexzwg.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1789070378807-xhpllg-block-applies-occ-charter-builders-bank-trust-2026-09-10-night-inside-2-9cce905c93.webp) The bank will also implement automated proof-of-reserves protocols and continuous cryptographic audit logs. These automated tools will enable regulatory examiners and institutional fiduciaries to verify asset segregation and cryptographic solvency in real time, setting a new benchmark for programmatic transparency in federal banking compliance. ## Market / industry impact Block's charter application signals a renewed institutionalization of digital assets within mainstream American financial infrastructure. The move places Block in direct competition with established institutional trust giants like Anchorage Digital, Fidelity Digital Assets, and BNY Mellon, which have similarly positioned themselves to capture expanding corporate demand for digital custody and stablecoin clearing. For Square's millions of small and medium-sized business merchants, the establishment of a dedicated national trust bank could facilitate rapid, low-cost international payments settled in stablecoins. By eliminating intermediary correspondent banks and third-party custody fees, Block can dramatically compress cross-border interchange rates while accelerating merchant settlement times. Financial policy analysts also view the application as a critical test of the OCC's evolving posture toward digital assets under contemporary federal guidelines. Approval of Builders Bank & Trust would provide a clear regulatory roadmap for other technology companies and institutional custodians seeking federal oversight, cementing the national trust model as the premier regulatory architecture for digital asset infrastructure. ## What to watch next The OCC will conduct a formal public comment period regarding Block's application, during which traditional banking associations, fintech trade groups, and consumer protection advocates will submit official testimony. Observers should watch for feedback from legacy banking lobbies, which have historically scrutinized technology firms entering the banking sphere. Corporate governance watchers will also monitor the formation of Builders Bank & Trust's independent board of directors and risk management committee. The OCC requires stringent operational controls, including capital buffers, anti-money laundering frameworks, and independent cybersecurity audits, before granting final charter approval. Finally, observe how rival fintech platforms, including PayPal, Stripe, and Coinbase, react to Block's maneuver. If Block successfully navigates the federal charter process, competing platforms may be compelled to pursue equivalent national trust charters to maintain parity in institutional custody and stablecoin settlement. ## Sources * Payments Dive: [Block seeks OCC national trust bank charter for digital custody](https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/block-seeks-occ-bank-charter/829903/) * The Paypers: [Block applies to OCC for Builders Bank & Trust charter](https://thepaypers.com/crypto-web3-and-cbdc/news/block-applies-to-the-occ-for-a-builders-bank-trust-charter) * Incrypted: [Jack Dorsey's Block files to establish national digital asset trust bank](https://incrypted.com/en/jack-dorseys-block-has-filed-an-application-to-establish-a-national-trust-bank/) Mentions: Block, Builders Bank & Trust, Jack Dorsey, Lee Woolley, OCC ## Sources - [Payments Dive](https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/block-seeks-occ-bank-charter/829903/) - [The Paypers](https://thepaypers.com/crypto-web3-and-cbdc/news/block-applies-to-the-occ-for-a-builders-bank-trust-charter) - [Incrypted](https://incrypted.com/en/jack-dorseys-block-has-filed-an-application-to-establish-a-national-trust-bank/)