Applies for National Trust Charter for Federal Oversight

Coinbase (COIN) stated on Friday it has utilized for a nationwide belief constitution with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a transfer that may put the agency underneath federal regulatory oversight if accepted.

The constitution would permit Coinbase to construct on its current custody enterprise by providing companies akin to funds and settlement, with out looking for a constitution as a full-service financial institution.

“Coinbase has no intention of becoming a bank,” Greg Tusar, vp of institutional product at Coinbase, stated in a weblog publish. “It is our firm belief that clear rules and the trust of our regulators and customers enable Coinbase to confidently innovate while ensuring proper oversight and security.”

Today, the U.S. crypto trade’s predominant regulated custody service is run via Coinbase Custody Trust Company (CCTC), which is licensed underneath New York state’s BitLicense regime. That framework, launched in 2015, was one of many earliest state-level regulatory fashions for crypto within the U.S.

A federal belief constitution would give the corporate extra flexibility to launch new monetary companies akin to crypto funds while not having state-by-state approvals.

Coinbase’s transfer follows a slew of crypto firms, together with Circle, Ripple and Paxos, making use of for federal supervision this 12 months.

Read More: U.S. SEC Takes Preliminary Step to Expand Universe of Crypto Custody to State Trusts