Block Applies for Bank Charter to Custody Bitcoin
Jack Dorsey's Block has applied for a national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under its new subsidiary, Builders Bank & Trust. The proposed bank will focus on custodying digital assets like Bitcoin and executing buy/sell orders without taking deposits or making loans. Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, it aims to operate within a consistent national regulatory framework as Block's crypto services scale. Block has been offering digital asset services for eight years under multiple state licenses, handling $10.7 billion in Bitcoin transaction volume in 2025 and serving around two million monthly users via Cash App. The application includes confidential exhibits on capital figures and business plans that must be approved by the OCC before operations can begin. The move comes amid a broader trend of crypto firms seeking federal charters, with several already receiving conditional approvals from the OCC in recent months. However, there is ongoing debate over whether such charters are legally appropriate for non-traditional financial institutions.
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