Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, giving the company a federally regulated platform that could eventually expand into institutional crypto custody.
- The new entity, called First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., will operate under the name Circle National Trust and fall directly under the supervision of the federal banking regulator.
At launch, the bank will hold crypto for Circle and its affiliates. Its OCC-approved business plan also allows it to eventually offer crypto custody to a limited number of institutional clients, including banks and other regulated financial firms, if there is demand.
The charter also opens a path for Circle to eventually manage the reserves backing USDC under federal oversight, potentially giving the company greater control over the infrastructure supporting the world's second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin.
- Circle applied for the charter in June 2025 and received conditional approval in December of the same year.
- It also became the first crypto company to receive a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services in 2015 and later secured licenses across jurisdictions, including the European Union, the UK, Singapore, Bermuda, Canada and Abu Dhabi.
Long shot
The language suggests Circle could gradually move into an area currently dominated by firms such as Coinbase Custody, BitGo, Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital, and others, though the company hasn't announced plans for a broad commercial rollout.
The move also adds to a series of unusual signals around Circle's relationship with Coinbase, its long-time USDC partner.
- The two companies launched USDC together through the Centre Consortium in 2018.
- After dissolving Centre in 2023, Circle took sole control of USDC, while Coinbase received a minority stake in Circle and retained a lucrative share of the income earned from the reserves backing the stablecoin.
That relationship remains commercially important to both companies. Coinbase distributes USDC across its products, while Circle pays the exchange amounts tied mainly to USDC reserve income.
- For instance, Circle launched cirBTC in June, putting it in direct competition with Coinbase's cbBTC wrapped Bitcoin product.
- Circle is also building Arc, its own blockchain for stablecoin payments, that could compete for activity with Base, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer-2 network.
- Coinbase, meanwhile, has joined Open Standard, a consortium of about 140 companies preparing to launch Open USD, a stablecoin that will compete directly with USDC. Open USD plans to share most of the income from its reserves with participating businesses, targeting the economics that generate most of Circle's revenue.
The timing has drawn attention because Circle and Coinbase entered their current three-year collaboration agreement in August 2023.
The companies are expected to discuss whether its terms should be changed before the initial period ends. But the agreement doesn't simply expire in August. Circle's filings say it automatically renews for additional three-year periods unless either company fails to meet its continuing obligations.