Zerohash has submitted a new application to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter.
The move follows the regulator's decision in July 2026 to return the company's original filing, a step that indicates the application contained material deficiencies rather than a rejection on substantive grounds.
Narrower scope for the new filing
The OCC is the federal agency responsible for chartering and supervising national banks and trust companies in the US. Its decision to return Zerohash's first application meant the filing did not proceed to a full review. According to a company spokesperson, the return was handled in coordination with the OCC and did not reflect a decision on the application's merits.
Zerohash has since indicated that its new submission would be less ambitious in scope, described as a more focused approval of national trust activities aligned with the company's rollout timeline. The revised trust application is now under OCC review, with a public comment period open until 17 September 2026.
Part of a broader wave of crypto charter applications
Zerohash's refiling comes amid a wider trend of digital asset firms pursuing national trust charters from the OCC. Several crypto-native companies have recently received preliminary approval for such charters, while two applications have been denied outright. Zerohash's case is notable as the only one to have been returned rather than approved or rejected, placing it in a distinct procedural category within the current regulatory pipeline.
A national trust charter would allow Zerohash to operate under federal rather than state oversight, potentially improving its ability to serve institutional clients across multiple US states without separate state-level licensing. The company currently holds a state-chartered trust bank licence and provides crypto infrastructure services to a range of financial institutions, including Franklin Templeton, Stripe, Interactive Brokers, and DraftKings, alongside its role supporting Morgan Stanley's E*Trade and BlackRock.
Legal background
The renewed charter effort coincides with an ongoing wrongful termination case in California, in which Zerohash's former chief compliance officer alleges he was dismissed after identifying compliance issues within the company. The outcome of the litigation has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether the case has any bearing on the OCC's review of the new trust application.
The regulatory process will continue through the September comment period, after which the OCC will determine whether to advance Zerohash's narrower application towards approval.
