Circle Applies to Establish National Trust Bank to Oversee USDC Reserve

Circle Internet Group has applied for a national trust charter, aiming to establish a national trust bank called First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A.

If the application is approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the bank would oversee the management of the reserve of the USDC stablecoin on behalf of Circle’s U.S. issuer, Circle said in a Monday (June 30) press release.

First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. would also offer digital asset custody services to institutional customers, according to the release.

For Circle, the charter would also help it meet the expected requirements of the proposed stablecoin legislation, the GENIUS Act, per the release.

“By applying for a national trust charter, Circle is taking proactive steps to further strengthen our USDC infrastructure,” Circle Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said in the release. “Further, we will align with emerging U.S. regulation for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, which we believe can enhance the reach and resilience of the U.S. dollar, and support the development of crucial, market neutral infrastructure for the world’s leading institutions to build on.”

This news follows Circle’s June 5 initial public offering that saw its shares triple in price by the day’s close and push the company’s value north of $18 billion.

One of the key advantages of going public is the enhanced regulatory clarity it affords, PYMNTS reported at the time. Becoming a publicly traded company requires Circle to comply with a higher standard of regulatory oversight, including audits, disclosures and governance practices.

In April, Circle received In-Principle Approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, the international financial center in Abu Dhabi, to operate as a money services provider.

Allaire said at the time in a press release that this achievement “underscores Circle’s enduring commitment to global stablecoin oversight.”

In July 2024, Circle achieved compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework by attaining an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the French banking authority.

Allaire said at the time that this achievement is “a huge milestone in bringing digital currency into mainstream scale and acceptance.”