Zerohash Retries for US Bank Charter After First Application Was Returned

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Zerohash is making a second attempt to secure a US bank charter, a month after regulators returned its initial application.

CoinDesk reported on August 25 that the crypto infrastructure firm resubmitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust charter. The OCC is reviewing the filing, and a public comment period will run through September 17.

The OCC formally returned Zerohash's first application last month. The filing reportedly required major revisions. Several crypto firms have recently received conditional trust charters from the OCC, but Zerohash is the only known case in which the application itself was returned.

In its new filing, Zerohash significantly narrowed the scope of the business. The company had previously said it would seek approval for a structure more tightly focused on national trust operations to align with its product launch timeline. It also said the return of the first application was part of a process conducted in consultation with the OCC and did not reflect a substantive judgment on the contents of the filing.

Zerohash currently operates as a state-chartered trust bank and provides crypto infrastructure to clients including Morgan Stanley's E*Trade, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Stripe and Interactive Brokers.

Separately, Zerohash is facing a wrongful termination lawsuit from its former chief compliance officer. The former executive alleges he was fired after identifying multiple regulatory compliance issues at the company.