Zerohash to refile national trust bank charter after OCC return

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has returned the application from Zerohash for a national trust bank charter, a move the cryptocurrency infrastructure provider describes as an administrative step rather than a substantive rejection. According to the regulator’s website, the filing was deemed materially deficient, a status that allows the company to resubmit its application this month. Zerohash stated in a recent communication that this process was undertaken in coordination with the OCC and does not impact its current operations, which continue under existing regulatory approvals. The company expressed its intention to seek a swift review of the resubmission, indicating a shift toward a more focused approach to authorising services aligned with its intended rollout timeline.

The OCC did not provide a specific public reason for returning the filing, although the regulator’s June bulletin outlines circumstances under which applications may be returned. These include a lack of sufficient information for the OCC to make a determination under statutory or regulatory criteria, failure to furnish required biographical and financial information, or insufficient responses to requests for additional data. The bulletin also notes that applications may be returned if organizers have not defined all products and services with particularity, including how they will be operationalised, or have not fully defined the associated governance, risk management, and compliance management infrastructure. Zerohash’s original application, submitted in March, covered a wide range of digital asset and fiduciary services. The company has since indicated it will take a sequenced approach to the authorisation of these services.

Internal documentation reviewed by media outlets suggests potential confusion regarding the company’s compliance leadership may have contributed to the return. Zerohash’s filing lists two different executives as Chief Compliance Officer in consecutive entries. The first, Adam Berg, is listed elsewhere in the application as the Chief Financial Officer. The second, Erik Kiefel, serves as the deputy chief compliance officer and chief anti-money laundering officer. A job listing for a global chief compliance officer currently appears on Zerohash’s website. This uncertainty follows a period of legal and regulatory scrutiny for the firm. In February 2025, Edgar Guerra, a former Federal Reserve examiner and compliance chief, sued Zerohash in California’s Alameda County Superior Court, alleging wrongful termination. Guerra claimed he had raised more than 250 compliance issues with the board, including anti-money laundering shortcomings, and was dismissed in 2023 to mask those findings.

The return of Zerohash’s application represents a first of its kind for the regulator amid an increase in trust bank charter activity during the current administration. This development contrasts with recent denials of other applications. Last month, the OCC denied the application from U.K. fintech Wise, citing that organizers did not demonstrate sufficient familiarity with federal banking laws and echoing state regulators’ concerns regarding anti-money laundering compliance. This month, the regulator rejected the application from Dutch neobank Bunq, stating the proposal presented significant supervisory and compliance concerns. Unlike these cases, Zerohash’s application was not rejected on its merits but returned for deficiency, allowing the company to address the issues and refile.

Zerohash operates as a cryptocurrency infrastructure provider and has obtained money transmitter and other various licenses in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. The company counts Morgan Stanley as a partner, with the bank offering crypto trading on its E*Trade platform through this relationship. Morgan Stanley itself obtained conditional approval for its own trust charter from the OCC in June. The OCC is currently managing a high volume of new bank applications, with Comptroller Jonathan Gould noting that the agency is pulling talent from the supervision side into one- or two-year rotations in its chartering arm to handle the workload.