Circle Gets Final OCC Approval To Launch U.S. Trust Bank

Circle received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Circle National Trust, giving the USDC issuer a federally supervised national trust bank.

The approval places Circle National Trust under OCC oversight and allows the entity to provide fiduciary digital-asset custody services. Circle said the bank will initially serve Circle and its affiliates, with the ability to expand later to institutional clients such as banks and other regulated financial firms.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire called the authorization “a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.” He said federal supervision gives Circle’s infrastructure a stronger governance and transparency framework as stablecoins move deeper into regulated finance.

Circle shares traded at $66.14 on July 10 after touching an intraday high of $73.63, giving the company a market value of about $17.6 billion. The stock finished the session higher after the charter approval.

Trust Bank Status Strengthens USDC Infrastructure

Circle National Trust is not a commercial bank. National trust banks can provide custody and fiduciary services, but they do not take retail deposits or make loans like traditional banks.

The structure gives Circle a clearer federal framework for parts of its stablecoin infrastructure. Circle said reserve management is planned as a future capability, while the first stage focuses on custody services for digital assets tied to Circle’s own operations and affiliates.

USDC remains one of the largest dollar-backed stablecoins in crypto and a core settlement asset across exchanges, wallets, fintech apps and DeFi protocols. Circle’s regulatory position has become more important as payment companies, banks and asset managers move further into digital-dollar products.

That competition is already widening. Open Standard recently unveiled Open USD with Visa, Stripe and Coinbase among more than 140 partners, setting up a broader fight for stablecoin distribution across payments, wallets, exchanges and merchant infrastructure.

Stablecoin Firms Push Toward Banking Rails

Circle’s approval follows a larger push by digital-asset companies to secure federal banking or trust-bank charters. The OCC granted conditional approvals in December to several crypto-linked trust-bank applications, including Circle’s earlier national trust charter step.

The move also comes as stablecoins become more connected to traditional payment rails. Visa has already expanded stablecoin settlement on Polygon, giving issuers another way to settle card flows outside normal banking hours.