USDC Issuer Circle Wins Approval for US National Trust Bank
As crypto finance converges with the mainstream financial system, regulatory compliance among stablecoin issuers has become a key market focus. Circle, the fintech company behind USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin, has long sought to bring its more than $70 billion in digital-asset reserves under federal oversight. A national trust bank charter would integrate blockchain-asset custody directly into the core U.S. financial system and place USDC reserves within a federal regulatory framework. The move is seen as a major milestone in cryptocurrency’s path toward the mainstream.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave Circle final approval on July 10, 2026, to establish a U.S. national trust bank called “Circle Trust.” The application was filed in June 2025 and received conditional approval that December. The new bank will operate under the legal name “First National Digital Currency Bank.” It will initially provide digital-asset custody services to Circle and its affiliates, with plans to expand the offering to financial institutions.
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The history behind this eventCircle Secures New York Trust Charter, Deepening USDC Oversight
USDC is Circle’s dollar-linked stablecoin, backed 1:1 by cash and highly liquid assets including short-dated U.S. Treasuries, with about $73.2 billion in circulation when federal approval was announced. Circle has historically issued the token through entities holding state money-transmission and virtual-currency licenses. Separating issuance from reserve custody under state and federal trust regimes gives banks and other institutions clearer lines of supervision, fiduciary responsibility and asset segregation, strengthening USDC’s claim to regulated digital-dollar infrastructure.
On July 31, 2026, Circle said the New York State Department of Financial Services granted Circle Internet Trust Company a limited-purpose trust charter, positioning the subsidiary to assume USDC issuance. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had given final approval on July 10 to First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., operating as Circle National Trust, after conditional clearance on Dec. 12, 2025. The federal bank will initially custody digital assets for Circle affiliates and may later manage USDC reserves, creating a state-supervised issuance layer alongside federally supervised custody.
Crypto.com Wins Conditional OCC Approval for U.S. National Trust Bank
A national trust bank charter allows a company to provide asset custody and trust services across U.S. state lines, but not to take deposits or make loans, and its customers do not receive FDIC deposit insurance. The charter would bring Crypto.com's digital asset custody, staking and transaction settlement activities under federal oversight by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, strengthening its compliance framework for institutional clients such as ETFs and corporate treasuries.
Crypto.com applied to the OCC in October 2025 and announced conditional approval on February 23, 2026, to establish Foris Dax National Trust Bank, which would operate as Crypto.com National Trust Bank. The company did not disclose the amount of capital it plans to provide. Before formally opening, the bank must still satisfy the OCC's capital, governance and risk-management requirements.
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