Block Seeks OCC Charter for Uninsured Bitcoin and Stablecoin Custody Bank

Block has filed for a federal charter to create Builders Bank & Trust, N.A., which the company describes as an uninsured national trust bank that would operate under direct federal supervision. The filing, disclosed on Sept. 8, says the proposed institution would provide custody and other fiduciary services for digital assets including bitcoin and stablecoins. Under the plan, Builders Bank would not take deposits or make loans, distinguishing it from a conventional commercial bank. Block also said the charter would establish a federal framework for some custody- and trust-related activities it already performs. The application is still under review. Block emphasized that Builders Bank will not commence operations until it receives all required approvals from the OCC. At the reporting cutoff, the OCC’s public table of digital-asset applications — which listed submissions received through Aug. 19 — did not yet include Builders Bank. That table showed 11 pending digital-asset licensing applications with receipt dates between Feb. 23 and Aug. 19. The filing follows a recent spate of OCC activity on limited-purpose national trust charters: the agency issued conditional approvals in December 2025 for five trust-bank applications (new charters for Circle’s First National Digital Currency Bank and Ripple, and conversions for BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos). Circle said in July it had received final OCC approval to establish its trust bank, which was described as designed to eventually manage USDC reserves. Separately, the Bank Policy Institute has previously opposed a series of limited-purpose trust applications, arguing firms should only receive trust charters if they plan to run genuine trust companies; those objections predate Block’s filing and do not specifically assess Builders Bank.