Block calls for the creation of a federal bank dedicated to Bitcoin

This Tuesday, Block takes the next step in its bitcoiner doctrine. Indeed, Jack Dorsey's company has filed a request with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the American federal banking regulator, to create Builders Bank and Trust, a federal depository bank dedicated to the custody of Bitcoin and stablecoins, rather than depending on a third-party provider. Block wants to become its own banking infrastructure, under direct federal supervision rather than a patchwork of state-by-state licenses.

Builders Bank: a charter, but not a bank like the others

Builders Bank and Trust will not be a bank in the usual sense. No current accounts, no mortgage, no personal loans. Rather, it would be an uninsured deposit bank, which does not accept any traditional deposits and does not lend money.

His only mission? Keeping Bitcoin and stablecoins on behalf of third parties, under the same regulatory roof as a national bank. If the charter is granted, it is Lee Woolley, currently at the head of Block's digital assets strategy and formerly at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon, who would take over as president and general manager, according to Block's September 8 press release, based on the experience acquired by Block with its subsidiary Square Financial Services.

“Building on Block’s experience in digital assets, our history with Square Financial Services, and the deep banking expertise of the team we have assembled, we believe Builders Bank is well positioned to support Block’s broader vision of economic empowerment. We look forward to working with the OCC as we pursue a charter designed to ensure the secure custody of Block and its customers’ assets. »

Lee Woolley, future president and CEO of Builders Bank

Block is not alone, the OCC is drowning in crypto files

And Block is far from being an isolated case. Since 2025, the OCC has received forty applications for a federal banking charter, twenty-three of which are related to digital assets according to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould himself. This is an eight-fold jump in four years. Twenty-one have already been approved and two rejected, again according to The Block.

A few winners stand out from the crowd. Revolut got its green light in early September, after Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple and Circle. The crypto banking rush is therefore no longer limited to a few isolated pioneers: it is almost becoming the norm for those who are heavy enough to afford it. The market rather shrugged its shoulders at Block's announcement. A request for a charter is never more than an intention placed on a desk in Washington; approval still needs to be obtained, and the OCC is not handing it out like candy.

Dorsey's calculation, however, has its logic. Having custody of your own assets rather than depending on a third party is exactly the philosophy he has been preaching for years on Bitcoin, this time applied on the scale of a listed company.

A fundamental movement that goes beyond Block, and which has its detractors

This rush for banking charters says something broader than just Jack Dorsey's appetite for autonomy. It reflects a collective bet: American crypto companies, from World Liberty Financial to Block, all go through the same federal door rather than tinkering license by license.