Circle Becomes First Major Stablecoin Issuer to Receive Federal Banking Charter — OCC Approves 'Circle National Trust' Over $73B USDC

On July 10, 2026, Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., operating as Circle National Trust. This is a national trust bank charter — not a commercial bank charter — meaning it provides fiduciary custody services but cannot accept consumer deposits or make loans.

The charter places Circle's digital asset infrastructure under direct federal oversight by the OCC, the primary regulator for national banks. Upon opening, Circle National Trust will offer fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates, with potential expansion to select institutional clients including banks and regulated financial institutions.

The critical future capability is reserve management. Currently, Circle relies on third-party banks and custodians (including BNY Mellon) to hold the cash and Treasury assets backing USDC's $73.2 billion in circulation. The charter is designed to enable Circle to eventually manage USDC reserves directly under OCC supervision, though the company notes this remains a future capability.

Circle applied for the charter in June 2025, received conditional approval in December 2025, and received final approval on July 10, 2026. The approval is required under the GENIUS Act, which mandates that large stablecoin issuers obtain OCC charters.

Shares surged 14% in premarket trading following the announcement, ending the day up approximately 5%.

The approval comes amid intensifying stablecoin competition. On the same day, SWIFT launched a blockchain ledger with 17 global banks. In June, a consortium of 140+ firms including BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase launched the Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin, where reserve yields are distributed to participating partners rather than a single issuer — a direct challenge to Circle's business model.

Other crypto firms have also received OCC approvals: BitGo received unconditional approval, Crypto.com secured a custodian bank license in February 2026, and Coinbase, Ripple, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets hold conditional approvals.