Circle Secures Final OCC Nod for National Trust Bank

Circle Internet Group obtained the last regulatory clearance from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to launch a national trust bank.

Circle charters First National Digital Currency Bank. The OCC cleared the firm to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., operating under the name Circle National Trust. This places the new bank under direct federal supervision from the OCC, the main regulator overseeing national banks and national trust banks.

Circle National Trust will offer fiduciary custody for digital assets belonging to Circle and its affiliates. The approved business plan permits it to extend those services to a narrow group of institutional clients, reportedly targeting banks and regulated derivatives organizations.

The charter brings USDC reserves under federal supervision. Unlike conventional banks, national trust banks focus on safeguarding client assets and delivering fiduciary services without accepting deposits or making loans. This model fits Circle’s digital asset operations into established fiduciary requirements.

Approval creates a route for the trust to oversee reserves backing USDC, the largest regulated stablecoin. The arrangement would subject that multibillion-dollar pool to federal oversight.

Jeremy Allaire highlights the milestone for blockchain adoption. “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,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive of Circle. He added that federal oversight of the trust bank “sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale” and opens broader institutional use of public blockchains.

CRCL shares rise on the news. The market reacted positively, pushing CRCL shares up as much as 14 percent intraday from a three-month low before they closed with roughly 5 percent gains. Several other crypto-related stocks, including Coinbase and Strategy, rose near 5 percent while bitcoin rebounded.

The approval concludes a multi-year regulatory process. Circle submitted its application on June 30, 2025. Conditional approval came in December 2025 together with Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. The final decision coincides with the GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, heading for full implementation in early 2027.

The law mandates OCC supervision for major stablecoin issuers. The new charter helps Circle satisfy that requirement and move USDC reserves into a federally supervised structure. The company previously obtained a BitLicense from New York in 2015, became the first global stablecoin issuer to meet the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rules in 2024, and maintains licenses in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bermuda, and Abu Dhabi.

Circle described the charter as reinforcing USDC’s position as regulated digital-dollar infrastructure for payments, settlement, and capital markets.