Morgan Stanley's infrastructure partner Zerohash rebuffed in pitch to be U.S. trust bank

Morgan Stanley's crypto platform partner, Zerohash, was rebuffed in their attempt to secure a U.S. trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC quietly returned Zerohash's application, leaving the Chicago-based company without a provisional charter to handle digital assets. The return of the application indicates that it was materially deficient, according to OCC policy.

Zerohash plans to resubmit a more sequenced application focusing on national trust activities aligned with their intended rollout timeline. The company had advertised jobs for a national trust officer and a chief operating officer at a pending Zerohash National Trust Bank, but the OCC's decision does not affect Zerohash's current operations.

Zerohash had recently pursued further investment and was reportedly valued above $1.5 billion. The firm had also been in acquisition talks with Mastercard, which fell through. Zerohash faced a lawsuit from its former chief compliance officer, Edgar Guerra, who claimed he had been fired to mask compliance issues.