Payments company Block has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter Builders Bank & Trust, an uninsured national trust bank designed to handle digital assets.
According to the filing submitted on September 4, the proposed institution would be a non-depository trust bank that takes no deposits and makes no loans. Its operations would focus on the custody of Bitcoin and other digital assets, executing customer buy and sell orders on a riskless principal basis, and facilitating stablecoin settlement.
Block noted that it has operated digital asset services for approximately eight years utilizing more than 50 state money transmitter and virtual currency licenses. The company handled roughly $10.7 billion in Bitcoin transaction volume and served about two million monthly crypto users through Cash App in the second quarter. Block stated that obtaining a federal charter would allow the business to support these activities through a consistent national framework as it scales.
If approved, Builders Bank would be headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, operating with no physical branches. Lee Woolley, Block's digital asset strategy lead and a former executive at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon, is slated to serve as chief executive and chair of the bank. Block co-founder Jack Dorsey is not listed among the organizers, directors, or senior executives.
The OCC's review process follows a series of recent actions regarding crypto-focused trust charters. The agency conditionally approved several digital asset trust charters over the past year, while other applications remain pending and some have been denied.
