Zero Hash plans to establish a new entity called "Zero Hash National Trust Bank," aiming to provide custody services for digital assets and fiat currencies, while also covering functions such as custody staking, transfer agency, and stablecoin management. Stephen Gardner, the current Chief Legal Officer, has been nominated as the proposed CEO of the trust bank.
This application coincides with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) becoming a popular channel for crypto-related companies seeking regulatory approval. From the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026, the OCC has conditionally approved charter applications from institutions such as Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, Fidelity Digital Assets, Stripe's Bridge platform, and Crypto.com. Coinbase and the Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial are still awaiting approval results.
Notably, Morgan Stanley submitted an application for "Morgan Stanley Digital Trust" on February 18, planning to leverage Zero Hash's technological infrastructure to launch spot crypto trading services for its E*Trade customers. This move highlights the increasingly close collaboration between the traditional financial system and the digital asset space.
A federal trust charter is not a traditional commercial bank license. Its core advantage lies in not accepting insured deposits or issuing commercial loans, but it gains priority under federal law over state-level regulation. This means Zero Hash can operate uniformly across all 50 U.S. states, significantly reducing compliance complexity and costs.
However, this trend has also sparked controversy. The Bank Policy Institute and the Independent Community Bankers of America have pointed out that these tech companies are circumventing the strict standards of traditional financial regulation with "bank-like" services, potentially blurring the legal definition of "bank" and increasing systemic risk. Consumer advocacy groups such as the National Community Reinvestment Coalition have also opposed applications from Ripple and Crypto.com, emphasizing their lack of consumer protection mechanisms that are essential for traditional banks.
Supporters argue that the federal charter provides the necessary institutional foundation for the digital asset industry, introducing bank-grade custody and governance standards to previously regulatory ambiguous areas, which is a key step in driving institutional capital into the crypto market. The future decisions of regulatory agencies will determine whether digital asset infrastructure companies can truly integrate into the mainstream financial system.