Crypto.com Gets National Bank Charter
Crypto.com received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a National Trust Bank in the U.S., allowing it to offer institutional custody and settlement services under federal oversight. The company's CEO also reportedly paid $70 million in cryptocurrency for the AI.com domain—the largest domain transaction to date—with plans to launch a consumer AI platform. This positions Crypto.com as a major institutional player while signaling the convergence of AI and crypto as a strategic business direction.
- The new entity will be named Foris Dax National Trust Bank and will operate as Crypto.com National Trust Bank once it receives full authorization. This limited-purpose charter will not permit the bank to accept deposits or issue loans. - Crypto.com joins a growing list of crypto and fintech firms that have received conditional approval for a national trust bank charter from the OCC, including Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets. The company first submitted its application in October 2025. - The $70 million acquisition of the AI.com domain was paid entirely in cryptocurrency to Malaysian entrepreneur Arsyan Ismail and represents the largest publicly disclosed domain sale in history. This surpasses the previous record of $49.7 million for CarInsurance.com in 2010. - The planned AI.com platform will focus on providing consumers with personal AI agents capable of performing tasks like sending messages, managing applications, and trading stocks. - This national bank charter is separate from Crypto.com's existing regulated entity, the Crypto.com Custody Trust Company, which operates as a non-depository trust firm under the New Hampshire Banking Department. - CEO Kris Marszalek's acquisition of AI.com follows his 2018 purchase of the Crypto.com domain for an estimated $5 to $12 million. - The move reflects a broader industry trend of convergence between artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, where AI can provide a decision-making layer for analytics and security on top of the transparent and verifiable execution layer of a blockchain.
