Circle wins OCC approval for national trust bank

Circle Internet Group Inc. said it has received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., a national trust bank that will operate as Circle National Trust. The company said the charter puts parts of its USDC infrastructure under direct OCC supervision, beginning with federally regulated fiduciary custody and with reserve management planned as a future capability.

Circle, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL, described the approval as a U.S. regulatory milestone for its stablecoin business. The company said USDC is the world’s largest regulated stablecoin and that the trust bank structure is intended to support payments, settlement and capital markets use of digital dollars.

What the charter permits

Circle said Circle National Trust will initially provide fiduciary digital asset custody services to Circle and its affiliates once it opens. In practice, a national trust bank holds and safeguards client assets under fiduciary obligations, with the OCC serving as the primary federal supervisor for national banks and national trust banks.

The company said the bank’s OCC-approved business plan allows for a narrower external custody business over time. According to Circle, the plan states that, depending on demand, First National Digital Currency Bank may eventually provide digital asset custody directly to a limited group of institutional customers, with a focus on banks and other financial institutions, including regulated derivatives organizations.

Circle also said the charter is designed to support future management of the USDC Reserve. If implemented, that would place those reserve-management operations under federal regulatory oversight, according to the company.

Federal oversight for stablecoin infrastructure

The approval links a stablecoin issuer’s core operating infrastructure more closely with the U.S. bank regulatory system. Circle said the arrangement brings USDC-related custody into a federal framework built around safety, soundness and transparency.

Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s co-founder, chairman and chief executive, said OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust is “a defining step” in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system. He said federal oversight of the trust bank sets a standard for transparency, governance and scale for Circle’s infrastructure, and supports use by financial institutions building on public blockchains.

The OCC is the main federal regulator for national banks and national trust banks. Its oversight gives Circle National Trust a federal supervisory relationship rather than relying only on state or overseas licensing for the relevant activities.

Circle’s licensing record

Circle said it filed its OCC application on June 30, 2025, and received conditional approval in December 2025. The company presented the trust bank approval as part of a broader regulatory strategy across major markets.

According to Circle, it became the first company to receive a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services in 2015. The company said it remains engaged with New York’s digital asset regulator.

Circle also said it became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in 2024. It said it holds licences in the UK, Singapore and Bermuda, has met Canadian Value-Referenced Crypto Asset requirements, and secured a licence from Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority in 2025.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.