On April 1, 2026, EDX Markets Holding Company, the cryptocurrency exchange backed by major Wall Street players including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Investments, and Charles Schwab, submitted an application for a national bank charter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), per The Block.
The firm aims to gain approval to offer custody, asset management, and trading settlement services. This move would position EDX as a regulated trust entity capable of serving institutional clients in the digital asset space.
EDX joins a growing list of crypto companies seeking national trust bank charters from the OCC, including Bridge, Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos.
Tony Acuña-Rohter, CEO of EDX, told Bloomberg that “the next wave of crypto will be the large banks.” He added that obtaining the charter would give EDX a competitive advantage when servicing institutional firms. “In order for us to be able to service these firms, we think it gives us a competitive advantage to be an OCC-chartered trust.”
In its filing, EDX highlighted a structural gap in the current U.S. digital asset market. Unlike traditional markets (equities and derivatives), where there is clear separation between brokers, market makers, exchanges, and custodians, crypto markets have largely lacked this division of roles.
Securing the charter would not allow EDX to take deposits or make loans like a full-service bank, but it would strengthen its ability to provide secure, regulated custody and settlement services — a key requirement for attracting large institutional clients.
EDX, which launched in 2023, is also backed by Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, and Virtu Financial.
This application reflects the broader push by crypto firms to gain traditional financial legitimacy and build trust with institutional investors. As the U.S. moves toward clearer federal crypto legislation (such as the Clarity Act), obtaining an OCC charter could become an important step for platforms looking to operate securely at scale.
The OCC has been reviewing similar applications from other crypto companies, and approval for EDX would further signal growing integration between traditional finance and digital assets.
