TL;DR Breakdown
- Protego Trust Bank will become the second regulated crypto custodian, following Anchorage.
- Demand for regulated digital asset companies is rising.
- Other crypto banks are seeking regulation.
Protego Trust Bank, a crypto custodian in the US has recently secured a National Bank Charter from the OCC, making it the second bank to do that after Anchorage. According to the National Bank Act of 1863, the US Comptroller of the currency (OCC) has the power to grant applications for new charters for national banks.
Protego Trust Bank Gets A Bank Charter From The OCC
The OCC has granted Protego Trust Fund a license that would upgrade it to a nationally-chartered trust bank. The trust bank will offer various cryptocurrency services which will include lending and issuance of crypto assets among many others.
The first national banking charter was granted to a crypto custodian just last month, making Protego the second crypto custodian to receive the charter. As a result, Protego Trust Bank will become a regulated crypto asset bank and “vertically integrated,” states the press release.
The newly chartered bank will provide four major services to its clients which includes lending and borrowing, insurance for crypto assets, crypto trading solutions, as well as custodial services.
Protego Trust Bank Gains More Attention From Institutional Players
Crypto banks that are federally regulated are now more likely to get attention from institutional investors, as they are now showing interest in the crypto space and would be willing to commit to secure and compliant digital asset companies.
However, crypto service providers are also building an ecosystem around the demand of these large players. Chris Hunter, Protego’s head of business, mentioned in a statement that the growing demand from investors is the major reason why they were able to get more than $1.5 billion in commitment from their investors.
More crypto custodian banks are seeking to get approved by the regulators in order to attract Institutional investors as well. A startup company, MetalPay, also recently filed for a bank charter with the OCC on the 3rd of February.
