Catena Labs receives preliminary conditional OCC approval to establish a national trust bank for AI agent custody and programmable financial controls.
Regulation & Gov ·
Catena Labs has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank dedicated to custody and programmable financial controls for AI agents. The move places Catena among a growing cohort of firms seeking federal trust charters as a pathway to serving institutional clients in digital assets.
A federal trust charter authorizes nationwide fiduciary activities—holding assets and managing custody—without conferring deposit-taking rights. For crypto and fintech operators, the OCC's charter represents a critical credibility signal, as institutional investors and large financial counterparties often restrict asset placement to custodians operating under recognized federal supervision rather than a fragmented state-by-state licensing regime. Holders remain subject to continuous OCC examination and capital standards.
The preliminary conditional status indicates Catena has cleared an initial threshold but has not yet reached final approval. The precise timeline and any remaining conditions or requirements remain unclear from available reports.