Circle Wins OCC Approval for First National Digital Currency Bank

Circle, the company behind the popular stablecoin USDC, has received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch its first national digital currency bank.

The new entity will operate as Circle National Trust and provide custody services for stablecoins and other tokenized assets under federal oversight.

Circle said the structure will support USDC operations as U.S. rules develop, citing the GENIUS Act's framework for regulated digital dollars, which is set to take effect in 2027.

The OCC approval comes as USDC remains widely used across crypto trading, payments, and settlement, with Circle emphasizing that full-reserve digital money needs national banking oversight.