Circle shares rise after OCC approves national trust bank
The USDC issuer won final OCC approval for a national trust bank, giving its stablecoin business a federal framework as CRCL shares climbed.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
Circle shares rose Friday after the USDC issuer said it received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create a national trust bank. For everyday investors, the move matters because it gives one of crypto’s biggest dollar-linked tokens a clearer federal regulatory home at a time when stablecoins are becoming a larger part of payments and trading.
A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to hold a steady value, usually one dollar, by being backed by reserves such as cash or U.S. Treasuries. Circle’s main product, USDC, is the second-largest stablecoin in crypto and has a reported market size of $73.2 billion, according to Circle.
Circle said Friday that OCC approval will move the infrastructure behind USDC from a mix of state-level oversight into a single national framework. The company said the approval is expected to support new work around custody, which means holding assets for customers, and the management of reserves that back its tokens.
Investors reacted quickly. Circle stock traded 8.4% higher at about $68.40 after the market opened, according to Yahoo Finance. In pre-market trading, the shares reached $73.80, their highest level in more than a week, Yahoo Finance data showed.
What the charter changes
The OCC supervises national banks and federal trust banks. A national trust bank charter can give a company federal permission to provide certain trust and custody services, rather than relying on separate approvals across multiple states.
Circle said the new bank will provide custody services for digital assets. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire wrote on X that the approval was “a historic day for Circle” and described it as part of building “a new fundamental money layer for the internet.”
Allaire also said Circle plans to support custody for stablecoins and tokenized securities. Tokenized securities are blockchain-based representations of traditional financial assets, such as securities tied to real-world assets.
Crypto firms gain banking access
The approval comes during a broader change in how U.S. regulators are treating crypto companies under President Donald Trump’s second administration. Decrypt reported that regulators have opened the door to more banking access for digital-asset firms.
Sony Bank said Thursday it had received conditional OCC approval to form a national trust bank as it works toward a dollar-backed stablecoin. Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos received similar regulatory treatment in December, according to Decrypt.
The charter approvals have also drawn political pushback. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has argued that some crypto bank charters were granted improperly, according to Decrypt. Industry groups including the Digital Chamber have disputed that criticism, saying the objections are misplaced, The Block reported.
Coinbase praises Circle while backing a rival
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong praised Circle’s approval on X. Coinbase has a revenue-sharing arrangement with Circle tied to USDC, with the companies splitting interest income from assets backing the stablecoin, largely U.S. Treasuries, according to Decrypt.
That support comes as Coinbase is also involved with a competing stablecoin effort. Late last month, more than 140 financial and technology companies, including Coinbase, Mastercard and BlackRock, backed Open USD, a stablecoin introduced by Open Standard, Decrypt reported.
Open USD is designed to address what its backers see as weaknesses in existing stablecoin models, including how interest earned on reserves is distributed, according to Decrypt. For Circle investors, that means the OCC approval strengthens the company’s regulatory position while competition in dollar-backed tokens continues to build.
This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.
