- Key insight: Zaria, a servicer specializing in digital asset-backed loans and securities, is asking the OCC for a trust bank charter.
- Expert quote: If granted, "Zaria National Trust Bank will be able to serve in roles such as indenture trustee, which is a fiduciary role." —Zaria CEO Emily Barron
- Supporting data: The global digital asset lending market hit $78.7 billion in late 2025 but contracted by 14% to $67.4 billion in early 2026.
Zaria, a servicing company for asset-backed loans, has filed for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Zaria National Trust Bank.
The trust bank, according to a federal filing, would operate solely as a trust company and is not looking to hold deposits, originate loans or issue digital currency — a break from the recent
Zaria co-founder and CEO Emily Barron told American Banker that should the OCC provide final approval for the trust charter, "Zaria National Trust Bank will be able to serve in roles such as indenture trustee, which is a fiduciary role."
Zaria is aiming to become a federally regulated corporate trustee for traditional and digital asset-backed loans and securities, as well as collateralized loan obligations. Similar companies that provide corporate trust services for structured finance include BNY Mellon, Wilmington Trust and WSFS.
Barron co-founded Zaria in 2025 after working in leadership positions at firms such as NYDIG, SoFi, Silicon Valley Bank, Barclays and Nomura.
One example of the company's current work — and the potential for its expansion — is a Bitcoin-backed securitized bond sale of
"In the aforementioned transaction, WSFS is the indenture trustee for the securitization," Barron said. "This is a role that may only be held by a corporate trustee. If OCC approves Zaria National Trust Bank's charter application, it could be appointed to indenture trustee roles in similar transactions in the future."
The company advertises a 24/7 collateral monitoring platform, according to its website, particularly for servicing loans backed by digital assets that trade outside traditional market hours.
"Lenders, asset managers and their investors increasingly need a fiduciary counterparty that can monitor collateral in real time, not just at the end of a reporting period," Barron said.
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Upon approval of the charter application, according to the filing, Zaria National Trust Bank would "request OCC approval to merge its affiliate Zaria Servicing LLC with and into the Bank." Zaria Servicing LLC, the company's operating subsidiary, currently offers primary servicing and collateral agency, backup servicing and collateral agency and various agency services. Those would also be included into the trust bank's offerings should the merger be approved by regulators.
"Filing for a national trust bank charter allows us to build that infrastructure inside a federally regulated institution," Barron said, "so lenders and their counterparties get the same regulatory clarity and credibility they already expect from a bank applied to markets that have never had it before."
Once the proposed trust bank receives certain OCC approvals, Barron said, Zaria will also work to build correspondent banking partnerships to process transactions for its clients.
Using digital assets to back loans is
The global digital asset lending market grew quickly last year, reaching a high point of around $78.7 billion, but subsequently contracted by 14% to $67.4 billion by early 2026, according to a recent Galaxy Digital
Nic Puckrin, founder of Coin Bureau and cross-asset analyst, told American Banker that the digital asset lending market is still a tiny fraction of the broader global debt market, at less than 0.03%, so the impact of its volatility on the wider financial system is still pretty muted.
"Since these loans are backed by crypto assets, volatility is obviously an issue, so risk management is key," he said. "That means lenders need to have conservative loan-to-value ratios, strong collateral management and be able to respond quickly in case of a sharp sell-off. It's these risk management practices that will likely matter most to regulators."
Puckrin doesn't believe the existence of digital asset-backed lending will be a deciding factor for Zaria's application.
"The OCC is far more likely to focus on whether it can operate to bank-grade standards," he said. "It'll be looking at the governance standards, custody arrangements, capital, compliance and whether the risk management framework can withstand periods of volatility. If those fundamentals are in place, the volatility of the underlying collateral should be considered a manageable risk rather than a barrier to approval."
