A well-known merchant's crypto financial platform has recently taken new steps. They have submitted an application for a National Trust Bank license to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), aiming to control the entire chain of issuing, custody, and exchange of their stablecoin USD1.

In simple terms, they want to eliminate reliance on third-party service providers. Currently, USD1 mainly depends on infrastructure providers like BitGo for support. Once they obtain the license, they will be able to handle all aspects independently.

Why the rush? The CEO, Zach Witkoff, explained straightforwardly—there are already institutional clients using USD1 for cross-border payments and fund settlements. This indicates genuine demand. If they get approved, they can unify these functions under a highly regulated entity, offering institutional users a complete one-stop stablecoin service, which is crucial for attracting more corporate clients.

According to their plan, after obtaining the license, they will launch fee-free minting and multi-currency custody services. That sounds promising, but the key depends on how the OCC approves. After all, U.S. regulators have been very cautious about stablecoins, and obtaining official status isn't easy. However, given that a major exchange has been actively promoting compliance, this direction seems promising.