The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given the green light to Circle, the company responsible for issuing 'stablecoins', to operate as a national trust bank, an entity that will function under the name Circle National Trust.
Thanks to this authorization, Circle will be able to perform functions typical of a trust entity, which will allow it to provide custody services and carry out certain operations with the consent of its clients. It will not, however, be enabled to accept deposits or grant loans, powers reserved for traditional commercial banks.
With this regulatory advance, the 'fintech' reinforces the structure of the 'stablecoin' USDC ---whose exchange rate is always equivalent to one dollar-- through custody subject to supervision and places Circle's new entity under the direct oversight of the OCC.
The license specifies that, once the trust bank's opening process is completed, it will provide services to Circle and its affiliated companies and that, depending on its business plan, it "could offer its digital asset custody service directly to a limited number of institutional clients, focusing on banks and other financial institutions, such as regulated derivatives organizations."
Circle registered its application with the OCC in June 2025 and obtained conditional authorization in December of that same year. The company already has a license in the EU's Crypto-Asset Market, in addition to other authorizations in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Bermuda.
"Federal supervision of our trust bank sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scalability for Circle's infrastructure, and drives a new phase of adoption where major financial institutions can develop their operations on public blockchains with clarity and confidence," highlighted Circle's President and CEO, Jeremy Allaire.