Galaxy seeks its own trust bank charter four years after walking away from BitGo
- Galaxy Digital has applied for a national trust bank charter from the OCC.
- Four years ago, Galaxy Digital failed a $1.2 billion attempt to buy custodian BitGo.
- BitGo won the court fight over that collapsed deal and then became the first crypto firm to open an OCC trust bank.
Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ: GLXY) has applied for a national trust bank charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Galaxy tried to obtain that same regulated custody capability back in 2021 by acquiring BitGo, but that custodian went on to secure its own federal charter first.
Why did Galaxy try to buy BitGo?
Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ: GLXY) has applied for a national trust bank charter from the U.S. OCC. Getting that approval will allow the firm to hold and manage client assets and act as a qualified custodian under federal supervision.
Galaxy previously tried to gain that capability in May 2021, when it agreed to buy BitGo (NYSE: BTGO) in a deal it valued at roughly $1.2 billion.
Mike Novogratz, Galaxy’s founder and CEO, said back then that the deal was a way to turn his firm into a single platform for institutions entering crypto. BitGo shareholders were set to receive 33.8 million newly issued Galaxy shares plus $265 million in cash. BitGo at that point held more than $40 billion in assets under custody and served over 400 institutional clients.
However, the plan fell apart. On August 15, 2022, Galaxy said it was exercising a contractual right to abandon the acquisition, blaming BitGo for missing a July 31 deadline to deliver audited 2021 financial statements, per a filing with the SEC. No termination fee was paid.
BitGo disputed Galaxy’s version of events and said that Galaxy had promised a $100 million reverse break fee. BitGo sued for that amount, with its lawyers calling Galaxy’s reasoning “absurd.”
On June 9, 2023, Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster threw out BitGo’s claims for good, ruling that Galaxy had a “clean termination right.”
BitGo has said it would appeal and maintained that the agreement was ended wrongfully.
When did BitGo apply for a bank charter?
While the two sides fought over the failed merger, the OCC gave conditional approval to five crypto trust charters, and BitGo was one of them. It got full, unconditional approval on January 29, 2026, just days after going public on the New York Stock Exchange as BTGO at $18 a share.
Of the five charters approved in December 2025, only BitGo and Circle (NYSE: CRCL) were up and running as national trust banks by late August 2026. Fidelity, Paxos, and Ripple were still waiting. Cryptopolitan reported that Ripple won final approval on October 26, 2026.
Earlier in October, Cryptopolitan reported that the OCC was sued by the Independent Community Bankers of America for giving crypto firms bank-like charters without making them follow full bank rules.
Comptroller Jonathan Gould noted that 23 out of the 40 new bank applications the agency received in a period of about 18 months were related to digital assets.
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FAQs
What did Galaxy apply for?
Galaxy Digital applied for a national trust bank charter from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which it announced on October 29, 2026.
Why did Galaxy's 2021 deal to buy BitGo collapse?
Galaxy terminated the roughly $1.2 billion acquisition on August 15, 2022, saying BitGo failed to deliver audited 2021 financial statements by a July 31 deadline; BitGo then sued for $100 million and lost.
Did BitGo get a federal charter before Galaxy?
Yes. BitGo won full OCC approval on January 29, 2026, becoming one of only two crypto firms, alongside Circle, to open a national trust bank by late August 2026.
Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
