Block Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) has taken a notable step toward deeper integration with the U.S. banking system by applying for a specialized federal charter. The payments and financial technology company, led by co-founder Jack Dorsey, disclosed on September 8, 2026, that it submitted a request to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form Builders Bank & Trust, N.A.
The proposed institution would function as an uninsured national trust bank under direct OCC oversight.
Its intended activities center on custody and fiduciary services rather than conventional banking.
The entity would not take customer deposits or extend loans.
Instead, it would focus on safeguarding assets, including bitcoin and stablecoins, along with related trust functions.
Block said the charter would place certain custody operations it already conducts under a single federal supervisory structure and provide a consistent nationwide framework as those operations grow.
Lee Woolley, currently Block’s digital asset strategy lead, is slated to serve as president and chief executive of the new bank.
Woolley previously headed the Treasury Department Federal Credit Union and held senior positions at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon.
In a company statement he said the planned bank draws on Block’s digital asset experience, its existing Square Financial Services industrial bank, and the assembled team’s banking background, positioning it to advance the company’s goal of broader economic access.
The application remains subject to OCC review. Builders Bank would not begin operations until it receives the necessary approvals.
The filing does not alter Block’s current services; it seeks to formalize and scale a subset of them under federal banking rules.
The move places Block among a growing list of fintech and digital-asset firms pursuing national trust or limited-purpose bank charters.
In recent months the OCC has received dozens of de novo applications and granted conditional or final approvals to several crypto-related entities, including Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Paxos, and others.
Regulators have publicly signaled greater openness to bringing digital-asset activities inside the federal banking perimeter when those activities are legally permissible.
National trust charters typically allow custody and fiduciary work without deposit insurance or lending authority, offering a narrower but nationally uniform license.
For Block the charter could reduce reliance on a patchwork of state licenses for custody-related work and align its bitcoin and stablecoin operations with federal standards.
The company already operates Square Financial Services, an industrial bank, so the new application represents an extension of an existing regulatory strategy rather than an entirely new direction.
Market reaction to the announcement was muted, with shares showing little immediate movement. Whether the OCC approves the application will depend on the agency’s assessment of capital, management, business plan, and risk controls.
If granted, Builders Bank would join a small but expanding group of federally chartered trust banks focused on digital assets. The outcome will also serve as another data point in the broader shift of crypto and payments firms toward direct federal supervision.