Circle soars after securing U.S. trust bank approval in crypto expansion
CoinDesk 2026-07-10 11:41:47
Context: Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a federally supervised national trust bank, Circle National Trust. The new entity will provide fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates, with potential expansion to select institutional clients. This development marks a significant step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.
Key Facts
- Circle, the issuer of the world's second-largest stablecoin USDC, received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, Circle National Trust, which will operate under federal oversight.
- The new entity will initially provide fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates, with potential expansion to select institutional clients such as banks and other regulated financial firms.
- Circle's USDC stablecoin has about $73.2 billion in circulation, making it the second-largest U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, behind Tether's USDT, which has $184.1 billion in circulation.
- The OCC's final approval comes after Circle applied for the charter in June 2025 and received conditional approval six months later, placing the trust bank under direct federal oversight.
- Shares of Circle are higher by 14% in pre-market trading following the announcement of the OCC approval, with CEO Jeremy Allaire stating that the approval marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.