Circle applies for U.S. trust bank license after successful IPO

Investing.com -- Circle is applying to create a national trust bank in the United States, a significant move following its recent initial public offering that valued the stablecoin firm at nearly $18 billion.

The company’s application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would, if approved, allow Circle to act as a custodian for its own reserves and hold cryptocurrency assets for institutional clients. The proposed entity would be named First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A.

Unlike traditional banking institutions, this license would not permit Circle to accept cash deposits or issue loans.

"Circle has long sought to seek the highest standards of trust, transparency, governance, compliance," CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a Reuters interview. "Becoming a publicly traded company is a significant part of that, becoming a national trust company is again a continuation of that."

The move comes after Circle’s blockbuster IPO earlier this month. Currently, crypto platform Anchorage Digital is the only digital asset company that holds a national trust bank charter in the United States.

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