Circle Seeks U.S. Banking License to Directly Custody Billions in USDC Reserves - Unchained

USDC issuer Circle has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank license, as per a report from Reuters

If approved, Circle will establish a new federally regulated entity called First National Digital Currency Bank. Currently, Anchorage Digital is the only other digital asset firm with a national trust bank charter in the U.S.

The trust bank license would allow Circle to directly manage and act as custodian for a portion of its USDC reserves, which are currently held at major institutions like BNY Mellon and managed by BlackRock.

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The license would also enable Circle to offer custody services for digital assets, particularly tokenized stocks and bonds, to institutional clients.

The application comes as the U.S. moves closer to implementing a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, which will require issuers to back tokens with liquid assets and disclose reserve details monthly.

The move follows Circle’s highly successful IPO last month. The stablecoin firm is now valued at over $40 billion.