Circle approved to establish a “National Trust Bank”! USDC reserve funds will be included in the U.S. federal regulatory framework

A historic breakthrough for U.S. stablecoin regulation! Stablecoin issuer Circle today (10) officially announced that it has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the national trust bank “Circle National Trust.” This move not only enables Circle to provide digital asset custody services under strict federal trust standards, but it also plans, in the future, to directly manage USDC reserves—significantly boosting traditional financial institutions’ confidence in adopting public blockchains.
(Background: Crypto stock ideas—Cathie Wood “buy the dip for 75 million USD” during June’s selloff, undeterred by Circle’s 40% plunge)
(Additional background: Visa, BlackRock, and other industry giants roll out a new type of stablecoin, Open USD (OUSD)! Circle shares plunge 13%; CEO fires back: USDC remains the top choice for institutions.)

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• Focus on digital asset custody, aligning with traditional trust standards
• Look to the institutional market, driving USDC reserve custody over the long term
• CEO: Bring blockchain into the core of the U.S. financial system

At a key moment when stablecoin regulations around the world are gradually becoming clearer, Circle (NYSE: CRCL), the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin, USDC, has officially marked a strategically significant milestone on the U.S. regulatory map.

On July 10, 2026 (Taiwan time), Circle issued an official announcement in New York, stating that it has successfully obtained the OCC’s final approval. It has been authorized to establish a national trust bank named “First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A.,” and will use “Circle National Trust” as its actual operating name in the future.

Focus on digital asset custody, aligning with traditional trust standards

As the primary federal regulator of U.S. national banks and national trust banks, the license issued by the OCC carries very high value. This approval enables Circle’s digital asset infrastructure to formally align with the role of traditional national trust banks.

According to the announcement, in the initial phase of operations, Circle National Trust will focus specifically on providing “fiduciary digital asset custody” services for Circle and its affiliated companies. Through this federally regulated infrastructure, Circle will be able to protect customers’ digital assets under extremely strict trust standards—bringing stablecoin business into a more mature federal banking framework to ensure system safety, robustness, and transparency.

Look to the institutional market, driving USDC reserve custody over the long term

Beyond providing services for its own group, Circle also outlined a more ambitious expansion blueprint in its business plan approved by the OCC. Going forward, depending on market demand, Circle National Trust plans to directly offer digital asset custody services to a limited number of institutional clients, with a focus on traditional banks, other financial institutions, and regulated derivatives organizations.

Even more disruptive is Circle’s long-term goal to fully incorporate USDC reserve management functionality into this federal-level trust bank. If this happens, USDC’s underlying assets would be directly subject to the highest U.S. federal standards of oversight and protection. This will undoubtedly greatly enhance its trustworthiness in global markets and help attract more traditional capital that has extremely high compliance requirements.

CEO: Bring blockchain into the core of the U.S. financial system

Looking back at this push through the process, Circle submitted its application to the OCC on June 30, 2025, received conditional approval in December of the same year, and has now seen the final outcome come to fruition today. In fact, Circle has long been seen as a “model student” for compliance in the crypto industry. It not only became the first company to obtain a New York BitLicense in 2015, but it also became the world’s first stablecoin issuer to fully comply with the EU MiCA framework in 2024.

Regarding its successful acquisition of the OCC national trust bank license, Circle co-founder, chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire offered high praise in a statement:

“The OCC’s approval to establish Circle National Trust is a decisive step to bring blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system. Federal supervision of our trust bank sets new standards for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle’s infrastructure, and opens the door to a new stage—enabling leading financial institutions to build on public blockchains with clarity and confidence.”