Blockchain start-up Paxos has secured the preliminary conditional approval to set up its own new national trust bank.

The firm is the first crypto-native firm to receive preliminary nod for a de novo national trust bank charter.

It will retain its New York Department of Financial Services state Trust charter. Besides, it will also look for a federal charter.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) gave nod to charter Paxos National Trust, New York following a thorough review of its operations.

The firm said that it aims to transform financial market infrastructure and support the “movement of any asset, any time, in a trustworthy way”.

Commenting on the move, Paxos general counsel Dan Burstein said in a blog post: “When we initially applied for this charter, we outlined how an OCC Trust Bank charter would help us to serve customers across the country most efficiently.

“But we’re retaining our NYDFS-regulated Trust company and have no plans to change that. We see significant benefits in having both a nationally and state regulated bank.”

“With separate oversight and jurisdiction on both levels, Paxos implicitly demonstrates just how our operations meet higher standards than others in our field. Importantly, Paxos will provide its clients with product choices and clear solutions that fit their individual needs,” Burstein added.

Anchorage, based in San Francisco, is the first crypto native to receive a federal banking charter from the OCC.

Recently, Anchorage received $80m in a Series C financing round, which was led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

In February this year, Protego Trust Bank secured conditional nod for bank charter from OCC. The new federal charter enables Protego to convert from a Washington State chartered trust company into a nationally chartered trust bank.