Block applies to become a US crypto bank with Builders Bank & Trust

Block, the fintech company co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create Builders Bank & Trust, N.A., a national trust bank designed specifically to custody bitcoin and stablecoins. If approved, the bank would operate under direct federal oversight, skipping the patchwork of state-by-state licensing that currently governs Block’s digital asset operations.

The filing, submitted on September 8, represents one of the most ambitious moves yet by a major publicly traded fintech company to bring crypto custody under a traditional banking framework. Block currently holds more than 50 state money-transmitter licenses to offer digital asset services. A single national charter would collapse that regulatory complexity into one federal relationship.

What Builders Bank would actually do

Builders Bank & Trust would be an uninsured national trust bank. That distinction matters. It means the institution would not accept deposits and would not make loans. No checking accounts, no mortgage origination, none of the activities that define a conventional commercial bank.

Instead, its entire purpose would be custody and fiduciary services for digital assets. The bank would hold bitcoin and stablecoins on behalf of clients, operating under the fiduciary standards that come with a trust charter.

The headquarters would sit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a state that has become a magnet for trust companies due to its favorable regulatory environment and well-developed trust law framework. No physical branches are planned.

Leading the venture is Lee Woolley, who has been tapped as president and CEO. Woolley brings institutional banking pedigree, with prior experience at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon.

Why a national charter instead of more state licenses

Block’s current setup involves navigating more than 50 separate state money-transmitter licenses, each with its own compliance requirements, examination schedules, and reporting obligations. A national trust charter from the OCC would replace that fragmented structure with a single federal framework.

Block processed approximately $10.7 billion in bitcoin transaction volume during 2025. At that scale, the friction of maintaining dozens of state relationships isn’t just annoying — it’s a genuine drag on the ability to scale services uniformly across the country.

The application is currently awaiting OCC review, and Block has been clear that Builders Bank will not begin operations until all necessary approvals are secured.

A growing line at the OCC’s door

Block isn’t alone in pursuing this path. Coinbase, Paxos, and Ripple have all been exploring or actively pursuing similar OCC trust charters.

Cash App, Block’s consumer-facing product, already lets users buy and sell bitcoin. Builders Bank would add an institutional-grade custody layer underneath that consumer access point.

Because Builders Bank would be uninsured — meaning no FDIC backing — clients would need to evaluate the risk profile differently than they would with a deposit-taking institution. Block will need to develop alternative assurance mechanisms, whether through private insurance, segregated asset structures, or other safeguards, to satisfy institutional due diligence requirements.

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