Stablecoin company Circle has asked for permission to set up a national trust bank in the U.S. This bank would help manage the reserves that back Circle’s USDC stablecoin in the country.
If the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approves the request, Circle’s new bank, called the First National Digital Currency Bank, would be allowed to run as a federally supervised trust.
Circle said this new bank would help make USDC stronger and easier to use. It also plans to offer safe storage services for digital assets to big companies.
“We are taking proactive steps to further strengthen our USDC infrastructure, and align with emerging US regulation for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins.”
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire
What National Trust Banks Can and Can’t Do
National Trust Banks are not allowed to take cash deposits or give out loans. But they can provide custody services and can work across the whole U.S. with approval from the OCC. This means they don’t need to apply for separate licenses in each state or for special licenses for digital currencies, according to law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.
When a company applies to the OCC for a National Trust Bank license, people have 30 days to share their comments or concerns. The OCC typically approves or rejects the application within 120 days after receiving all required documents.
Circle has been thinking about applying for a bank license since at least 2022. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 21 that Circle was one of several crypto companies looking into getting a bank license.
In January 2021, Anchorage Trust Company became the first crypto company to get a license from the OCC, turning into Anchorage Digital Bank.
