Jack Dorsey's Block joins rush for federal bank charters from OCC

Jack Dorsey-founded Block, Inc., is taking its turn in seeking to become a federally regulated national bank. 

The payments company said on Tuesday it filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish an uninsured national trust bank called Builders Bank & Trust, N.A.

"Building on Block’s experience in the digital asset space, our history with Square Financial Services, and the deep banking expertise of the team we’ve assembled, we believe Builders Bank is well positioned to support Block’s broader vision of economic empowerment," said Lee Woolley, who would serve as president and CEO of Builders Bank, in the statement. 

If approved, Builders Bank would provide custody and other fiduciary services, including for bitcoin and stablecoins. The federal charter would also make it so Block could support those activities as well as create a federal framework for certain custody and other activities the company currently offers, Block said.

Block’s application comes as a growing number of fintech and crypto companies seek federal bank charters. Last week, Revolut secured a conditional approval following other companies including Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple and Circle as the OCC takes a friendly stance toward the industry.

The OCC has also recently granted conditional approval to President Donald Trump's family-backed World Liberty Financial, amid scrutiny in Washington over potential conflicts of interest.

Since 2025, the OCC has received 40 de novo charter applications. It has approved 21 while denying two in that period.