Crypto custodian Anchorage gets national trust charter

Digital asset custody services provider Anchorage has secured conditional approval for a national trust charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The move makes Anchorage Digital Bank National Association the first federally chartered digital asset bank in history.

Since launching in 2017, Anchorage – which counts Visa among its investors – has signed up a host of big name institutional investors as clients, helping them to keep their crypto assets safe.

However, it hopes the charter will turbocharge business, saying: “Anchorage Digital Bank is the first entity to have both the tech and the regulatory clarity that serious institutional participation in crypto demands.

“And as a federally chartered bank with fiduciary powers, Anchorage Digital Bank will unequivocally meet the definition of Qualified Custodian, giving institutions a straightforward way to meet their obligations under federal law.”