Galaxy Digital applies to OCC for national trust bank charter
The proposed New York trust bank would provide digital asset custody, trading, staking and fiduciary investment advisory services if approved.
Julian Okafor
A proposed federal trust bank would bring digital asset custody, trading and staking under one national supervisory framework. Galaxy Digital Inc. NASDAQGLXY, a New York digital assets and data centre infrastructure company, announced on Oct. 29 that its subsidiary has applied to establish Galaxy National Bank, building on more than 50 existing licences.
Galaxy Digital LP submitted the application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to the release. The proposed New York institution would provide custody, trading and staking services, alongside fiduciary investment advisory services, if approved.
Galaxy shares closed higher at US$19.09 on Nasdaq at 4:00 p.m. EDT on Oct. 28, according to NASDAQGLXY. That session preceded the charter announcement, so the gain does not establish a market response to the application.
The release gives no projected bank revenue, capital commitment or opening date. The application itself was not available in the OCC digital asset applications table reviewed for this story and was not read; the account rests on Galaxy's announcement and the organizers' public notice.
Proposed Bank Would House Custody And Staking
The organizers' public notice identifies Galaxy Digital LP as the sponsoring organization and gives the proposed main office as 300 Vesey Street in New York. It asks the OCC for permission to organize a national trust bank under the National Bank Act.
Galaxy says the proposed bank would serve clients nationwide through a single federal framework. Its Oct. 29 release describes the application as an expansion of its regulated operations, which already include SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiaries and a CFTC-registered swap dealer subsidiary.
The company also says a subsidiary recently received a BitLicense and a Money Transmission License from the New York State Department of Financial Services. Those state permissions cover institutional digital asset trading and custody in New York; they are distinct from the federal charter now sought.
"A national trust charter would be an important next step, allowing us to bring more of our services under a single federal framework and expand how we serve clients as adoption accelerates," Galaxy founder and chief executive Mike Novogratz said in the release.
Galaxy's stated risks include approval on different terms, additional conditions and a longer review than anticipated. The company specifically identifies capital, liquidity, governance, risk management and compliance requirements as potential conditions it would need to satisfy.
Digital Assets Have An Existing Earnings Base
The application follows Galaxy's Oct. 27 third-quarter results, which showed US$323 million in consolidated net income. Its earnings release reported a US$9 million adjusted EBITDA loss in digital assets, despite US$71 million in adjusted gross profit for that business.
Galaxy ended September with US$10.4 billion in combined assets under management and assets under stake. The latter category represented US$4.6 billion, giving the proposed bank's staking offering an existing business context without establishing how much activity would move into it.
The same September results showed US$69 million in adjusted EBITDA from data centres. Those operations remain a separate source of earnings from the digital asset services described in the charter announcement.
Read more: Galaxy Digital reports US$323M profit as Helios contribution grows
The custody market already includes The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation NYSEBNY, a New York financial services group. In a joint Oct. 27 announcement, BNY said its platform now supports XRP and RLUSD, allowing eligible institutional clients to safekeep, hold and transfer those assets.
Mugglehead's coverage of that custody expansion distinguished available services from intended capabilities. Galaxy's proposed bank is at an earlier regulatory stage: its announcement describes services conditional on approval.
Chartering Requires Two Approval Stages
The OCC's December 2021 chartering manual describes preliminary and final approval as separate steps. Preliminary approval permits organizers to proceed with organizing a bank, including raising capital and hiring staff; it does not itself complete the chartering process.
The charter model has faced opposition from community bankers. An Aug. 11, 2025 commentary from the Independent Community Bankers of America cited its president and chief executive, Rebeca Romero Rainey, warning that trust banks do not face the same regulatory and capital standards as federally insured full-service banks.
That criticism addressed the broader charter model and predates Galaxy's announcement. It was not an assessment of Galaxy's application or proposed controls.
The organizers' notice invites written comments within 30 days after publication and directs requests for the public file to OCC licensing staff. Galaxy's Oct. 29 release sets no target date for an OCC decision or a bank opening.
