Protego Trust Bank wins second U.S. national digital-asset bank charter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), part of the U.S. Treasury, approved Protego Trust Bank’s application for a national “digital asset bank” charter, according to the company’s press release.

The OCC has given Protego one and a half years to complete all regulatory requirements. After that, the conditional license will become permanent, and the financial institution will be able to operate in all U.S. states.

The Seattle-based bank became the second after Anchorage, to win OCC approval. Protego Trust Bank will offer custody services and the issuance of new digital assets, as well as trading platforms and P2P lending.

“Institutional buyers will value Protego’s integrated offering for storing cryptocurrencies in a federally regulated bank. It will also appeal to those planning to trade at an institutional level,” said Protego’s Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Silverman.

Chris Hunter, head of business development, noted that the company already has custodial commitments worth more than $1.5 billion. Bonnie Wells, head of the compliance department, said clients chose the bank for its rigorous adherence to legal standards.

The Protego Trust Bank team includes professionals with experience at institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, State Street, BNY/Mellon, Morgan Stanley, BitGo, Kraken, BNP Paribas, UBS and others.

Apart from Anchorage, similar applications for a national trust-bank license were filed by BitPay and Paxos.

Last year, the Wyoming Banking Board granted the Kraken bitcoin exchange and the cryptocurrency startup Avanti SPDI status with the powers of a traditional financial institution.

Earlier, Michael Barr, the former Ripple adviser, was floated as a potential candidate to head the OCC after the resignation of Brian Brooks.

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