Block applies for OCC charter to establish Builders Bank & Trust, an uninsured national trust bank offering Bitcoin and stablecoin custody services.
DeFi & Yields ·
Block has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeking approval to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A., a national trust bank without deposit insurance. The entity would operate under OCC oversight and focus exclusively on custody and related fiduciary functions for digital assets, including bitcoin and stablecoins, while declining to accept deposits or originate loans.
Lee Woolley, who holds the title of Digital Asset Strategy Lead at Block, is slated to assume the role of president and chief executive at the proposed institution. The application marks a strategic move to bring regulated, federally chartered infrastructure to digital asset safekeeping—a domain historically fragmented among state-chartered custodians and unregulated third parties.
Approval remains pending before the OCC, and the agency's review will determine whether the charter aligns with regulatory expectations for custody operations in the crypto ecosystem. The structure as an uninsured trust bank suggests Block intends to operate without the safety net of federal deposit guarantees, positioning it distinctly from traditional banking offerings.