TLDR
- Circle Internet Group (CRCL) surged up to 15% in premarket trading Friday after receiving OCC approval to establish a national trust bank
- The bank will operate as Circle National Trust, providing digital asset custody under direct federal oversight
- Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought nearly 218,000 CRCL stock the day before the announcement
- The approval strengthens the infrastructure of USDC, Circle’s flagship dollar-pegged stablecoin
- Coinbase (COIN), which co-founded USDC with Circle, rose 4.6% to $165.80 on the news
Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock jumped as much as 15% in premarket trading on Friday after the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the company to establish a national trust bank for digital currency.
The stock climbed to $72.34 in premarket action, following a 1.7% decline on Thursday.
The bank will operate under the name Circle National Trust and will conduct business as First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. It will sit under direct federal oversight from the OCC, the primary regulator for national banks.
Circle has received final OCC approval to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., a national trust bank operating as Circle National Trust.
A major U.S. regulatory milestone that strengthens USDC infrastructure through federally regulated custody, with reserve… pic.twitter.com/GtThvFV5aW
— Circle (@circle) July 10, 2026
Circle filed its application with the OCC on June 30, 2025. It received conditional approval in December 2025 before getting the green light on Friday.
Circle National Trust will initially offer digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliates. The OCC’s approved business plan also allows the bank to later expand services to a limited number of institutional customers, including banks and regulated derivatives organizations.
CEO Jeremy Allaire said the federal oversight “sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale” for Circle’s infrastructure and opens the door for financial institutions to build on public blockchains with more regulatory clarity.
The approval directly strengthens USDC, Circle’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, by bringing its custody infrastructure under federal oversight for the first time.
Cathie Wood Timed It Well
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased 217,896 CRCL stock across three funds — the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF — just one day before the announcement.
CRCL makes up 3.1%, 3%, and 4.3% of each respective fund.
ARKK rose 1.71% and ARKW gained 2.52% in Friday trading.
Coinbase and Crypto Markets React
Coinbase (COIN), which co-founded USDC alongside Circle, rose 4.6% to $165.80 on Friday.
Bitcoin gained 2.6% over 24 hours to reach $64,385, while Ethereum climbed 3%.
USDC has long held its position as the largest U.S.-based stablecoin. Stablecoins have traditionally been used to trade crypto assets but have grown in use for remittances and as a hedge against inflation in high-inflation economies.
Circle has been pushing the idea that stablecoins will play a role in everyday payments. Recently, Circle executives have pointed to potential use cases in payments made by AI-powered agents.
The OCC approval is the latest step in Circle’s push to operate within the federal banking system, giving its custody services a regulatory framework that institutional investors have long sought.
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