Circle won final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on July 10 to open a national trust bank. The move places USDC under federal supervision while limiting the new entity to custody services.
The approval creates Circle National Trust, which will provide fiduciary digital-asset custody for Circle and its affiliates. Reserve management remains a future capability, and the bank will not accept retail deposits or extend loans.
Standard Chartered estimated in January that stablecoins could reduce US bank deposits by about $500 billion by the end of 2028. A December 2025 Federal Reserve note projected possible cuts to lending ranging from $65 billion to $1.26 trillion, depending on adoption levels and reserve placement.
As of July 13, USDC had $72.95 billion in circulation, with reserves held mostly in overnight reverse Treasury repo agreements and short-term Treasury bills. About 16 percent sat in bank deposits.
The charter gives institutional users clearer regulatory treatment for custody and settlement activities involving USDC.
