EDX Markets Seeks OCC Charter for EDX Trust

EDX Markets has applied to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter a national trust bank, EDX Trust, aiming to expand institutional crypto custody, asset management and trade-settlement services. The proposed firm would be a non-depository national bank that separates custody and settlement from trading while continuing to route order matching through EDX’s existing exchange platform. EDX says this structure is intended to reduce structural risks in crypto markets where trading, custody and brokerage are often bundled together, creating conflicts of interest and single points of failure. Under the plan, EDX Trust would provide fiduciary asset-management services, invest client cash and stablecoin balances in highly liquid instruments, and facilitate trading using a riskless-principal model with end-of-day net settlement. The bank would operate online from Chicago and target institutional clients such as broker‑dealers, futures commission merchants and registered investment advisers. EDX argues that an OCC charter would allow it to offer services nationwide under a single federal framework and meet custody requirements needed by regulated institutions. Founded in 2022, EDX Markets is backed by Citadel Securities, Virtu Financial, Fidelity Digital Assets and Hudson River Trading. The application comes amid a broader push by crypto and financial firms for national trust bank charters to expand institutional offerings under federal oversight. Other recent filers include Zerohash, Coinbase (pending), Laser Digital and Payoneer; Morgan Stanley also applied earlier this year for a de novo trust bank to support digital-asset services through a separate entity. The OCC has been active in granting conditional approvals, issuing licenses last month to Bridge, Stripe and Crypto.com and earlier approvals in December for firms such as Ripple Labs, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos and BitGo. That pace has drawn scrutiny: the American Bankers Association urged the OCC in February to slow approvals until oversight questions tied to pending US stablecoin legislation are resolved. EDX’s filing underscores the continuing industry effort to build regulated custody and settlement infrastructure for institutional crypto participation.