Stablecoin provider Circle has received approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank in a major regulatory milestone.

The bank, known as Circle National Trust, will be under direct supervision of the OCC, allowing it to manage the reserves that back its $73 billion stablecoin USDC directly rather than relying on intermediaries.

Circle added that the bank may eventually offer digital asset custody services to other banks and financial institutions, depending on demand.

“OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the US financial system,” said Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive 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.”

The approval increased Circle’s share price by almost five per cent, though it is still trading down over 20 per cent since the start of the year as competition from stablecoin providers has grown.

Stablecoins and the broader cryptoassets class have been bolstered in recent years by a US president who is heavily invested in the market. Trump made around $1.2 billion last year from crypto-related ventures last year, according to various financial disclosures.

Circle and competitor Ripple received conditional approval from the OCC to establish national trust banks last year. Ripple has not yet publicly stated that it has cleared the final hurdles necessary to officially establish its bank, making Circle the first stablecoin issuer to officially launch a bank in the US.

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