EDX Markets, the institutional crypto exchange backed by Citadel Securities, Virtu Financial, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Hudson River Trading, has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter. The proposed entity, EDX Trust, would operate as a non-depository bank from Chicago, providing fiduciary custody, asset management, and trade settlement services exclusively to regulated institutions.
The structure separates custody and settlement from order matching-addressing structural risks in crypto markets where these functions are often conflated. Client cash and stablecoin balances would be invested in highly liquid assets, with trades settled via a riskless principal model.
EDX said the OCC charter would enable nationwide compliance under a single regulatory framework, fulfilling custody requirements for broker-dealers, futures commission merchants, and registered investment advisers.
The move follows a broader trend: Coinbase, Laser Digital, Payoneer, and Morgan Stanley have all filed similar applications this year. The OCC has recently approved trust charters for Ripple, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and BitGo-though the pace of approvals has drawn criticism from the American Bankers Association, which urges slower oversight amid pending stablecoin legislation.