Circle has obtained the final authorization from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish and operate Circle National Trust, a national trust bank. This development places the company’s trust bank under direct federal oversight, a move Circle executives described as a significant milestone.
The national trust bank charter will enable Circle to provide fiduciary cryptocurrency custody services, including for its own USDC reserves. The company may also extend these services to institutional clients, though this may depend on demand.
Circle applied for this charter a year ago and received conditional approval later in 2025. As reported at the end of 2025, Circle was among the companies that received initial conditional approval from the US OCC. This final authorization suggests the establishment of Circle National Trust.
According to Circle, federal oversight of the trust bank is intended to set a new standard for transparency and governance for its infrastructure. This is seen as unlocking a new phase for adoption, where financial institutions can build on public blockchains with greater clarity and confidence.
This development follows similar approvals for other entities, such as Ripple, which secured approval to establish Ripple National Trust Bank. These actions are viewed as steps toward integrating blockchain technology into the US financial system. Other cryptocurrency-focused companies like BitGo, Digital Assets, and Paxos were also mentioned in the context of earlier approvals.
“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,” commented Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle. He added that federal oversight sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle’s infrastructure.
The company stated that it continues to build on its long-standing regulatory strategy. The extent to which Circle will extend custody services to institutional clients remains dependent on demand.
Why This Matters
The materials describe a narrow update: Circle has obtained the final license from the OCC to launch its national trust bank, Circle National Trust. Whether Circle will extend custody services to a limited number of institutional clients depends on demand.
Broader Context
Source materials place the factual news in this context: The entity behind the second-largest stablecoin announced earlier today that it has secured the necessary license from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate as Circle National Trust.
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