# Circle Wins OCC Approval for National Trust Bank

*Author: David Christopher*
*Published: Jul 10, 2026*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/fr/read/news/circle-wins-occ-approval-for-national-trust-bank*

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[Circle received final approval](https://www.circle.com/pressroom/circle-receives-final-occ-approval-to-establish-national-trust-bank) from the OCC to create Circle National Trust, a federally regulated trust bank that will hold digital assets for USDC and could eventually help manage the assets backing it. The approval gives Circle a stronger regulatory position as competition among stablecoins grows.

## What's the Scoop?
- **The Charter:** The OCC approved Circle’s application to create First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate as Circle National Trust. Circle applied in June 2025 and received conditional approval in December 2025. The new bank will be overseen directly by the OCC, giving Circle a federal regulator for part of its USDC business.
- **What It Does:** Circle National Trust will hold digital assets for Circle and its affiliates and may later offer custody services to a small number of banks and regulated financial firms. It is also designed to eventually help manage the reserves backing USDC. That would place a key part of USDC’s operations under direct federal supervision. The charter does not mean USDC is government-insured, but it could make banks and large institutions more comfortable using it.
- **The Stock Reaction:** Circle shares rose more than 10% in early trading before giving back some of those gains. The stock had fallen roughly 20% after OpenUSD launched, as investors worried that its free minting, free redemption, and shared reserve income could hurt Circle’s business. That concern may have been overstated. [USDC still accounted](https://www.bankless.com/read/news/usdc-extends-lead-over-usdt-to-70-of-volume-in-2026) for ~70% of adjusted stablecoin transaction volume in the first half of 2026, compared with 25% for USDT, while firms including Standard Chartered and BNY have chosen to build on USDC. The OCC approval adds another advantage by giving Circle federal oversight that OpenUSD does not yet have.
[Open USD Is Coming for Circle’s Margins on BanklessThe newest major stablecoin consortium is offering businesses a better deal than Circle has. Will Circle be fazed?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-4f68aa00-125c-4717-a4ee-851e86f07888.png)BanklessDavid Christopher![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/b7/e4b77544-5a37-4f0b-8824-8440aa348476/content/images/thumbnail/open-usd-is-coming-for-circle-s-margins-1782935662-8ef471d8-a51b-46c0-99ad-527fd6f6f5af.png)](https://www.bankless.com/read/open-usd-is-coming-for-circles-margins)