Galaxy Digital applies for US national trust bank charter

On October 29, 2026, Galaxy Digital LP applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Galaxy National Bank in New York, seeking to consolidate crypto custody, trading, staking, and advisory services under federal oversight. The filing follows Galaxy's 2022 termination of a $1.2 billion acquisition of BitGo, which later obtained its own charter. Galaxy joins firms like Circle and Ripple in pursuing national trust bank charters amid legal challenges from traditional banking groups.

Galaxy Digital bank charter application

• ▪Galaxy Digital LP submitted an application on October 29, 2026 to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Galaxy National Bank as a national trust bank headquartered in New York
• ▪Proposed Galaxy National Bank, filed by Galaxy Digital, plans to consolidate cryptocurrency custody, trading, staking, and investment advisory services under a single federal regulatory framework
• ▪Approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would allow Galaxy Digital LP to hold and manage client digital assets and act as a qualified custodian under federal supervision

Galaxy Digital regulatory licenses

• ▪Galaxy Digital holds more than 50 regulatory licenses across the United States, Europe, and Asia, including SEC-registered broker-dealers, a CFTC swap dealer, a UK FCA authorization, and a New York state BitLicense
• ▪The New York State Department of Financial Services recently granted a Galaxy Digital subsidiary a BitLicense and a Money Transmission License to provide digital asset trading and custody services to institutional clients

OCC charters for other crypto firms

• ▪Ripple received final OCC approval for Ripple National Trust Bank on October 26, 2026 to support Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and provide business custody services, following Circle's final approval in July 2026
• ▪The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved national trust bank charter applications for Circle, Ripple, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets in December 2025
• ▪BitGo received full, unconditional approval for its national trust bank charter on January 29, 2026, shortly after going public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BTGO at $18 per share

BitGo acquisition and legal dispute

• ▪On June 9, 2023, Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster dismissed BitGo's lawsuit seeking a $100 million reverse break fee from Galaxy Digital, ruling Galaxy exercised a valid termination right
• ▪Galaxy Digital terminated its acquisition agreement with BitGo on August 15, 2022, citing BitGo's failure to deliver audited 2021 financial statements by a July 31 deadline
• ▪In May 2021, Galaxy Digital founder and CEO Mike Novogratz stated that acquiring BitGo was intended to make Galaxy Digital a single platform for institutions entering cryptocurrency
• ▪In May 2021, Galaxy Digital agreed to acquire BitGo in a deal valued at approximately $1.2 billion, which involved issuing 33.8 million Galaxy shares and paying $265 million in cash