Galaxy Digital has applied for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the company announced Thursday.

In a statement, Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of the New York City-based digital asset firm, called the charter “an important next step, allowing us to bring more of our services under a single federal framework and expand how we serve clients as adoption accelerates.”

Galaxy provides custody, trading and staking services for digital assets, along with fiduciary investment advisory services.

“Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of the global financial system, and Galaxy has spent years building the capabilities to support that transition,” Novogratz said Thursday.

The development comes amid a marked uptick in charter applications to the OCC and other regulators by fintechs during President Donald Trump’s second term. Cryptocurrency stalwart Ripple, for instance, disclosed this week that it had gained unconditional approval from the OCC to launch its own national trust bank.

The licensing glut has its detractors, however. The Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group, sued the OCC this month, arguing the spike in trust bank charter activity would create “a gaping hole in financial regulation.”

The ICBA, in a statement Tuesday objecting to Ripple’s application, asserts expanded use of the trust charter by the OCC “undermines the stability of the financial system by allowing a non-traditional institution to offer deposit-like services without adequate regulatory oversight or deposit insurance.”

With a trust bank charter, Galaxy would not be permitted to take deposits or lend commercially. The company, however, said regulation by the OCC would “build on more than 50 licenses Galaxy holds across the U.S., Europe and Asia,” including broker-dealer and swap dealer designations and a BitLicense and money transmission license through New York state.