TL;DR:
- Block applied for an OCC charter to create Builders Bank & Trust, a federally supervised institution focused on Bitcoin custody and stablecoin settlement.
- The proposed bank would not accept deposits or make loans, while Block says oversight would replace fragmented state-level licensing with a national framework.
- Block handled about $10.7 billion in Bitcoin volume during 2025, but Builders Bank needs OCC approval before operating as several crypto firms pursue charters.
Block has applied for a national trust bank charter that could move its Bitcoin and stablecoin custody operations from a patchwork of state licenses into one framework. The payments company behind Square and Cash App filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on September 4 to create Builders Bank & Trust. The proposal is striking because it seeks federal supervision without building a conventional deposit-taking bank. If approved, the institution would be uninsured and non-depository, focused on digital asset custody, fiduciary services, stablecoin settlement, and customer trading executed on a riskless-principal basis.
Block says the charter would consolidate digital asset activities it has operated for roughly eight years under more than 50 state money transmitter and virtual currency licenses. In 2025, those operations handled around $10.7 billion in Bitcoin transaction volume, while Cash App served about two million monthly crypto users by the second quarter. The scale of that existing business helps explain why Block is seeking a consistent national rulebook as activity expands. Builders Bank would not accept deposits or make loans, sharply separating its intended role from a traditional commercial lender despite the bank designation.
A Federal Charter Could Reshape Block’s Custody Model
Builders Bank would be led by Lee Woolley, Block’s digital asset strategy lead, as president and CEO. Woolley said the proposed institution would draw on Block’s digital asset operations and its experience with Square Financial Services, the company’s existing industrial bank. That connection gives the project a banking foundation while keeping its proposed mandate narrowly focused on digital asset custody. The trust charter would place Builders Bank under OCC supervision and allow it to offer nationwide secure custody and related fiduciary services, but the application still requires regulatory approval before the institution can begin operating.
Block is entering an increasingly crowded national trust charter race. Ripple has received conditional approval for a similar charter, while Circle and BitGo have final approval, and other applicants include Kraken parent Payward and Zerohash. The broader shift suggests federal trust charters are becoming a strategic route for crypto companies seeking nationwide custody infrastructure. Approval, however, is not automatic, and Block’s proposal remains an application rather than a completed regulatory transition. Its attempt to expand Bitcoin and stablecoin custody therefore depends on whether federal regulators formally authorize Builders Bank to operate under the requested structure.
