Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, bringing parts of its digital asset infrastructure under federal supervision.
The newly chartered entity, First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., will operate as Circle National Trust and will be supervised by the OCC. The bank will initially provide federally regulated custody services for Circle’s digital assets and infrastructure, with the company planning to expand into oversight of USDC reserve management in the future.
Circle develops digital payments and blockchain infrastructure, including the USDC stablecoin, the Circle Payments Network and its enterprise blockchain platform Arc. The approval comes as regulators increasingly focus on stablecoin oversight and digital asset custody, with financial institutions seeking clearer regulatory frameworks for blockchain-based payments and settlement.
Circle said the trust bank could also extend custody services to a select group of institutional clients, including banks and regulated financial institutions, subject to regulatory approval.
The approval follows Circle’s application to the OCC in June 2025 and conditional approval later that year, marking another step in the company’s regulatory expansion, following licences and approvals across the US, Europe, the UK, Singapore, Bermuda, Canada and Abu Dhabi.
Circle co-founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said, “OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.
“Federal oversight of our trust bank sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle’s infrastructure and unlocks a new phase of adoption, where leading financial institutions can build on public blockchains with clarity and confidence,” he said.
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