Circle Wins Conditional OCC Approval for National Trust Bank
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Circle Internet Group, one of the world’s leading internet financial platform firms, announced recently that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank.
Known as the First National Digital Currency Bank, the new financial institution is now awaiting full approval. Once it receives it and is able to start operating, it will act as a federally regulated trust bank.
As such, it will be subject to OCC oversight and would oversee the management of the USDC Reserve on behalf of Circle’s US issuer, according to the announcement.
Commenting further on the matter, Circle’s statement said that the conditional approval is an important milestone in the company’s efforts to strengthen the infrastructure that underpins USDC. The token is the largest regulated stablecoin in the world, and the second largest stablecoin by market cap, bested in size only by Tether (USDT).
Furthermore, Circle pointed out that the conditional approval also represents a big step toward meeting requirements introduced by the GENIUS Act, which became law in the US earlier this year, in July.
An Important Step For Circle’s Global Compliance
Circle’s CEO, Chairman, and co-founder, Jeremy Allaire, said that establishing a national digital currency trust bank of this kind will deepen the company’s longstanding commitment to the highest standards of trust and compliance.
“As a public company, we’re focused on operating under rigorous regulatory oversight and building the infrastructure that allows digital dollars like USDC to become a core part of global finance. This important milestone will give the world’s leading institutions greater clarity and confidence to build on Circle’s platform as stablecoins and blockchain technology move rapidly into the mainstream,” Allaire added.
Once it officially becomes the national trust bank, Circle’s First National Digital Currency Bank would be able to further increase safety and regulatory oversight of the USDC Reserve. At the same time, it would be able to enable Circle to offer fiduciary digital asset custody and other related services to institutional customers.
According to the announcement, this is an important move as “The charter would also help Circle further align its U.S. operations with global regulatory standards for stablecoins and digital financial infrastructure.”
Circle’s conditional approval comes roughly half a year after the company submitted its application on June 30, 2025. The approval builds on the company’s already long history of pursuing clear and rigorous regulatory pathways across jurisdictions around the globe.
Circle was previously the first firm to receive a BitLicense in New York back in 2015, and it became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the EU’s MiCA framework in 2024. Earlier this year, it also received a license from Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority to operate a sa money services provider.
