New York-based Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, said on July 10 that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved its plan to establish Circle National Trust, a national digital currency trust bank.

Circle said the trust bank will support USDC and provide institutional digital asset custody under a single federal charter.

Circle shares rose 11% in premarket trading following the announcement.

Unlike full-service banks, national trust banks can hold assets and process settlements but cannot accept customer deposits.

The approval allows Circle operate under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rather than a state-by-state framework. Circle said USDC was regulated as stored value or prepaid access under money-transmitter laws.

The move also follows the GENIUS Act, which created a federal framework for payment stablecoins and expanded the regulator’s authority over some nonbank issuers.

USDC has a market capitalization of about US$73.3 billion, making it the world’s second-largest stablecoin.

Circle’s move also comes as Paxos, a US-based blockchain infrastructure company, has sought its own Office of the Comptroller of the Currency national trust charter.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg