Bitcoin, Ethereum Slip as Block Applies for U.S. Trust Bank Charter

U.S. crypto markets opened Wednesday on a cautious note, as renewed military tension between Washington and Tehran kept a lid on risk assets even as one of America's best-known fintech firms took a major step toward deeper integration with the traditional banking system.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Retreat as Middle East Tensions Weigh on Risk Assets

Bitcoin opened at $78,446.18 on September 9, roughly 0.8% below Tuesday's open, before recovering slightly to $78,824.54 by 7:11 a.m. ET. Ethereum followed a similar pattern, opening at $2,484.93 — down 0.2% on the day — and holding near $2,486.04 in early trading.

The pullback follows a week of escalating attacks between U.S. and Iranian forces, which have pushed oil prices toward the $100-per-barrel mark. With the Federal Reserve set to wrap up a two-day policy meeting next week and markets pricing in a possible 25-basis-point rate hike, traders are treating both crude and crypto as barometers of geopolitical risk. Higher oil prices combined with tighter monetary policy typically pressure non-yielding assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and this week's price action reflects that dynamic. Despite the daily dip, both assets remain firmly higher on a monthly basis, with Bitcoin up roughly 21% and Ethereum up nearly 30% over the past month.

Block Seeks Federal Trust Charter to Expand Bitcoin and Stablecoin Custody

Against that volatile backdrop, Jack Dorsey's Block moved to deepen its regulatory footprint in digital assets. The company confirmed it has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter that would operate under the name Builders Bank & Trust, N.A.

Unlike a conventional bank, Builders Bank would not accept deposits or issue loans. Instead, it is designed purely as a trust institution focused on custody and related services for Bitcoin and stablecoins, bringing existing Block operations under a single federal regulatory umbrella. Lee Woolley, Block's digital-asset strategy lead, has been tapped to serve as the proposed bank's president and CEO, drawing on experience from both Block's crypto business and Square Financial Services.

Block joins a growing list of crypto and fintech firms pursuing the same regulatory path. Ripple has already received conditional OCC approval for its own trust charter, while Circle and BitGo have cleared final approval. Kraken's parent company, Payward, along with infrastructure provider Zerohash, are still awaiting decisions on similar applications. The trend signals a broader industry shift toward operating custody and settlement functions inside federally supervised structures rather than under a patchwork of state licenses.

What It Means for the Market

Taken together, the two developments capture the current state of the U.S. crypto market: short-term prices remain hostage to macro and geopolitical headlines, while the underlying institutional infrastructure keeps maturing regardless of daily volatility. A federally chartered custody bank from a company as prominent as Block would mark another step toward mainstream financial integration for digital assets, even as traders navigate a choppy week shaped by oil prices, Fed policy, and conflict in the Middle East.

For now, market participants are watching two things closely: whether the Iran-related conflict de-escalates ahead of next week's Fed decision, and how regulators respond to the wave of national trust bank applications now working through the OCC pipeline.