Circle said it received final U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approval to establish Circle National Trust, creating a federally supervised custody route for USDC while leaving the bank's opening date and first institutional customers undisclosed.

Circle National Trust Receives Final OCC Approval

Circle said the OCC approval lets Circle Internet Group establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., a national trust bank that will operate under the Circle National Trust name.

Circle said the OCC will directly supervise the trust bank under the federal framework used for national banks and national trust banks.

Circle described the approval as a U.S. regulatory milestone for USDC infrastructure.

The company said the trust bank will support federally regulated custody and that reserve management for USDC is planned as a future capability rather than an immediate service.

The bank is not being presented as a consumer deposit institution.

Circle's approved plan is centred on fiduciary digital asset custody, a narrower role than lending or taking retail deposits.

Circle Limits First Custody Services To Affiliates

Circle said the trust bank's first service will be fiduciary custody for Circle and affiliated entities when operations begin.

The company also cited the OCC-approved business plan as allowing custody services to a limited number of institutional customers later, depending on demand.

The prospective customer set named in the plan is limited to banks and other financial institutions, including regulated derivatives organisations.

Circle said the approval is not a general retail banking launch, and said the disclosed plan keeps the first phase inside Circle's own group and affiliates.

Jeremy Allaire, Circle's co-founder, chairman and chief executive, said the approval would bring digital assets and blockchain systems closer to federally supervised U.S. finance.

Circle's statement also linked the charter to payments, settlement and capital markets activity, but those claims remain company-owned rather than independently measured adoption data.

Circle Cites A Licensing Trail From New York To ADGM

Circle said its licence history includes a 2015 BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services and 2024 compliance with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

The company listed additional authorisations in the UK, Singapore and Bermuda, Canadian Value-Referenced Crypto Asset requirements and a 2025 licence from Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

Circle said the 2025 ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority approval is one of its international regulatory milestones; the OCC decision itself is a U.S. federal banking action.

This article is based on Circle's own company press release.

Circle did not disclose the bank opening date, first institutional customers or timing for USDC reserve-management migration.

Circle did not disclose when Circle National Trust will open, name first institutional customers, set demand thresholds for expanding custody beyond affiliates, or give a timetable for moving USDC reserve management under the trust bank.