Circle, the issuer of the world’s largest regulated stablecoin – USDC – has received approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., a national trust bank. The bank will operate under the name Circle National Trust.
Via its trust bank, Circle will be able to offer digital asset custody services to itself, its affiliates, and to a limited number of institutional customers. Those customers could include banks and other financial institutions, such as regulated derivatives organisations. It also can manage its USDC Reserve fund directly, reducing costs and bringing the operation under federal regulatory oversight to further enhance the safety, transparency, and trust of USDC.
Strategically, the trust capability allows Circle to diversify from mainly issuing stablecoins to becoming a fuller service infrastructure provider to institutions issuing tokenised assets. Such a broadening of its services could be important as Circle is likely to face increased competition for stablecoin issuance once the Open Standard’s Open USD launches later this year.
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