Circle Internet Group has achieved a significant milestone, gaining the green light from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to launch a dedicated trust bank aimed at digital asset custody services. This new institution will operate under the name First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., commonly referred to as Circle National Trust.
Designed to offer institutional custody solutions for USDC and various other digital assets, Circle National Trust will function under comprehensive federal regulation. Jeremy Allaire, Circle's Chairman and CEO, highlighted that this approval enhances Circle’s regulated framework and places the bank under direct supervision of the OCC.
Allaire described the OCC's endorsement as a transformative step, indicating that it integrates blockchain technology and digital assets into the fundamental structure of the U.S. financial system. He asserted, “Federal oversight of our trust bank establishes a new benchmark for transparency, governance, and scalability within Circle’s infrastructure, ushering in a new chapter of adoption that allows leading financial institutions to operate on public blockchains with clarity and confidence.”
This approval follows a prior conditional endorsement granted in December 2025, subsequent to an application submitted earlier that June. The establishment of Circle National Trust could signal a pivotal change in how digital assets are approached by traditional financial entities, potentially leading to increased confidence in blockchain-based transactions.
