Circle (CRCL), the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin USDC, has received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national fiat bank.
Domestic trust banks are licensed to provide custody and fiduciary services to users, but do not accept consumer deposits or make loans like traditional commercial banks.
Shares are up 14% in pre-market trading.
“The OCC’s approval of the creation of the Circle National Trust marks a milestone in the integration of blockchain technology and digital assets into the heart of the U.S. financial system,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement announcing the milestone on Friday. “Federal oversight of our trusted bank sets a new standard in transparency, governance and scale for Circle’s infrastructure.”
The move comes as crypto companies like Kraken increasingly seek federal bank charters, licenses and approvals. Crypto.com obtained an OCC license in February to operate as a federally regulated crypto custodian bank. BitGo, Circle, Ripple, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets all received similar conditional approvals in December.
