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Milestone enables institutional custody services

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL), one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., a national trust bank. The bank will operate under the name Circle National Trust.

OCC approval of a national trust bank charter represents a major U.S. regulatory milestone and strengthens the infrastructure of USDC1 – the world’s largest regulated stablecoin – through federally-regulated custody, with reserve management planned as a future capability. It places Circle National Trust under direct federal oversight by the OCC, the primary regulator for national banks and national trust banks.

As a federally regulated national trust bank, Circle National Trust aligns digital asset infrastructure with the longstanding role of national trust banks in safeguarding client assets under strict fiduciary standards. This brings USDC infrastructure into a proven federal banking framework designed to ensure safety, soundness, and transparency.

Upon opening, Circle National Trust will offer fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates. As per its business plan, which was approved by the OCC, "depending on demand, FNDCB may eventually offer its digital asset custody service to a limited number of institutional customers directly, focusing on banks and other financial institutions, such as regulated derivatives organizations." The charter is also designed to enable future capabilities, including management of the USDC Reserve, which would bring those operations under federal regulatory oversight and further enhance the safety, transparency, and trust of USDC.

“OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system,” said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle. “Federal oversight of our trust bank sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle’s infrastructure and unlocks a new phase of adoption, where leading financial institutions can build on public blockchains with clarity and confidence.”

As an OCC-chartered national trust bank, Circle National Trust advances USDC’s role as trusted, federally regulated digital dollar infrastructure for payments, settlement, and capital markets activity, supporting the role of the U.S. dollar in an increasingly digital global economy.

Circle submitted its application to the OCC on June 30, 2025 and received a conditional approval in December, 2025, building on its long-standing commitment to regulatory engagement. In 2015, Circle became the first company to receive a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services and remains engaged with the leading U.S. state digital asset regulator. In 2024, Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. Circle also holds licenses in the UK, Singapore, and Bermuda, and has met Canadian Value-Referenced Crypto Asset requirements. In 2025, Circle secured a license from Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

ABOUT CIRCLE

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through digital assets, payment applications, and programmable blockchain infrastructure. Circle’s platform includes the world’s largest regulated stablecoin network anchored by USDC, Circle Payments Network for global money movement, and Arc, an enterprise-grade blockchain designed to become the Economic OS for the internet. Enterprises, financial institutions, and developers use Circle to power trusted, internet-scale financial innovation. Learn more at circle.com.

1 USDC is issued by regulated affiliates of Circle. A list of Circle’s regulatory authorizations can be found here.

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There's a new stablecoin in town that wants to shake up the industry. On June 30, a consortium of over 140 organizations announced the launch of Open USD, which has an enticing offer for partners. It proposes joint governance and sharing the interest it earns on its reserves with its partners, as well as free Open USD minting and redemptions. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Circle Internet Group (CRCL +4.20%), which issues USD Coin, fell 22% over the 48 hours following the announcement, though it has since pared its losses.

So, is this another flash-in-the-pan token that will fall away like many stablecoin projects have? Or could it take market share from the two dominant players, USDC and Tether?

What is Open USD? The Open Standard consortium says it will launch Open USD, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, later this year. The list of major companies on board is impressive, including Visa (V +2.87%), Mastercard, BlackRock, Alphabet, Coinbase (COIN +3.92%), and more. Given that Coinbase was one of the original forces behind USDC and the crypto firm still shares part of Circle's revenue, its participation raised eyebrows.

Open USD's yield revenue-sharing promise also goes against the grain. By law, U.S. stablecoin firms must back each token they issue with readily accessible reserves, and they can earn interest on those reserves. Circle holds the majority of its assets in U.S. Treasuries, and its reserve yield accounted for $2.63 billion of its total $2.75 billion in revenue in 2025. Investors are worried that Open USD could challenge that stream.

Is the writing on the wall for Circle? Things can turn on a dime in the cryptocurrency and stablecoin markets, particularly because speculation often drives price action. However, the dramatic drop in Circle's stock following Open USD's announcement seems overblown for a stablecoin that hasn't even launched. Open Standard won't be able to replicate Circle's regulatory progress nor its payment network overnight, if at all.

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On a practical level, a consortium of 140 names is impressive, but getting buy-in on key decisions will be a challenge. I have enough trouble organizing an annual holiday with 10 friends -- if that feels like herding cats, I can only imagine the behind-the-scenes wrangling it will take to get those big banks, payment processors, crypto firms, and tech companies to bring Open USD to market.

Plus, neither Tether's dominance nor Circle's first-mover advantage in the U.S. will be easy to shake, as other high-profile stablecoin projects have discovered. Tether launched in 2014 and, despite being dogged by questions about how it handles its reserve funds, there are still $184 billion USDT in circulation -- almost 60% of the total. Circle's USDC ranks second at $73 billion, while the others barely register. For example, PayPal launched PayPal USD in 2023, and it has issued only $2.75 billion in tokens since then.

Can stablecoins achieve their potential? The bigger question is whether the stablecoin industry can really grow at the rate many predict. Issuance soared last year, but growth has slowed in 2026. The market could be worth trillions of dollars, but it depends on stablecoins becoming part of people's day-to-day money management. There's huge potential, but rewiring payment infrastructure takes time.

I am not buying the Circle dip, but that's got nothing to do with Open USD. I want to see how the stablecoin sector evolves, and right now, I think established players like Visa, which is embracing blockchain technology, or Chainlink (LINK +3.05%), the oracle crypto that provides essential data for on-chain and real-world operations, have more potential.

Emma Newbery has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, BlackRock, Chainlink, Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global and recommends the following options: short September 2026 $47.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.