Key Takeaways
Circle announced July 10 that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave final approval to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate as Circle National Trust.
The charter puts USDC custody infrastructure under direct federal oversight, with management of the USDC reserve planned as a future capability.
The approval lands one day after Sony Bank's conditional OCC nod and eight days before the July 18 GENIUS Act deadline for federal stablecoin rules.
Circle cleared its last federal hurdle. The stablecoin issuer announced July 10 that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave final approval to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., a national trust bank that will operate as Circle National Trust. The company applied on June 30, 2025, won conditional approval in December, and now holds a charter that puts its custody infrastructure under the direct oversight of the primary regulator for national banks.
What the charter allows
Upon opening, the bank will provide fiduciary custody of digital assets for Circle and its affiliates. The OCC-approved business plan lets it eventually offer custody to a limited set of institutional customers like banks and regulated derivatives organizations, depending on demand, per the release. The charter is also built for a bigger step later, managing the reserve behind USDC, which Circle reported at $77 billion in circulation at the end of the first quarter. CEO Jeremy Allaire said federal oversight "sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale" for Circle's infrastructure.
A crowded July for stablecoin rules
The timing is not subtle. Sony Bank picked up conditional OCC approval for its own stablecoin trust bank one day earlier, and six federal agencies face a July 18 deadline to finalize the GENIUS Act rules that decide who gets to issue regulated stablecoins in the US at all. With the SEC's first major crypto rule also slated for this month, the dollar's digital layer keeps moving inside the federal perimeter. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
What is Circle National Trust?
It is the operating name of First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., the national trust bank Circle received final OCC approval to establish on July 10, 2026. It will offer fiduciary digital asset custody for Circle and its affiliates.
Is USDC now federally regulated?
The charter brings Circle's custody infrastructure under direct OCC oversight, and it is designed to eventually bring management of the USDC reserve under federal supervision as well. USDC issuance itself already operates under a patchwork of state and international licenses.
How is this different from Sony Bank's OCC approval?
Sony's Connectia Trust received preliminary conditional approval on July 9 and cannot operate until it clears final signoff and remaining conditions. Circle has now completed that final step, moving from December's conditional approval to a full charter.
What is the GENIUS Act deadline on July 18?
Federal agencies must finalize rules under the GENIUS Act by July 18, 2026, setting which permitted, foreign, and state-qualified issuers can enter the regulated US stablecoin market and under what standards.