Circle Wins Final OCC Approval for National Trust Bank

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) said on July 10 that it received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank, a step that brings the infrastructure behind USDC under direct federal banking supervision.

The new entity, chartered as First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. and operating under the name Circle National Trust, will provide custody services for digital assets. According to the business plan approved by the OCC, the bank is also designed to eventually manage the reserves backing USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.

"OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system," Circle Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement. "Federal oversight of our trust bank sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle's infrastructure."

The trust bank charter arrives as more traditional financial institutions integrate USDC. BNY, the world's largest custodian bank, recently added USDC to its institutional digital asset custody platform.

In his post, Allaire framed the approval as part of building "a new fundamental money layer for the internet" spanning use cases from AI agents transacting with one another to wholesale transfers between large financial institutions. "We are thrilled to be the first of a new cohort of firms establishing this kind of banking infrastructure," he wrote.

What the Charter Allows

Upon opening, Circle National Trust will offer fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates, according to the press release. The OCC-approved business plan states that, "depending on demand, FNDCB may eventually offer its digital asset custody service to a limited number of institutional customers directly, focusing on banks and other financial institutions, such as regulated derivatives organizations."

The charter is also structured to enable future management of the USDC reserve. Circle described reserve management as a "planned" future capability rather than a service available at launch. The cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries backing USDC are currently held with third-party banking partners; the charter would allow Circle to bring those reserves under its own federally regulated custody over time.

The approval places Circle National Trust under direct oversight by the OCC, the primary regulator for national banks and national trust banks.

A Multi-Year Regulatory Path

Circle submitted its application to the OCC on June 30, 2025, and received conditional approval in December 2025, according to the company. The Defiant reported on the initial filing when Circle applied for the trust bank license last year.

The charter follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, the federal stablecoin law that establishes a framework for payment stablecoin issuers. The OCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the statute in February 2026, and the law's requirements take effect on Jan. 18, 2027. In his post on X, Allaire wrote that as the GENIUS Act "approaches full implementation in early 2027," Circle is positioned "to bring critical components of USDC's operation and reserves into this structure."

Circle is not the only crypto firm pursuing a national trust charter. The OCC has issued conditional approvals to Ripple, Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Fidelity and Crypto.com, among others. The GENIUS Act has yet to take full effect, and The Defiant has reported that some firms have described themselves as "regulated" or "compliant" under a law that is not yet operative.

Market Reaction

CRCL shares climbed in early trading on July 10 following the announcement, according to market data for the stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

USDC had a circulating supply of roughly $73 billion as of July 9, according to CoinGecko, ranking it the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the second-largest stablecoin behind Tether's USDT. The token traded at $0.9999, in line with its dollar peg.

Circle has built out its regulated footprint over the past decade. It received a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services in 2015, became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in 2024, and secured a license from Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority in 2025. The company also holds licenses in the U.K., Singapore and Bermuda.