Circle has obtained a federal bank charter, but the new entity, Circle National Trust, cannot offer ordinary checking accounts, FDIC-insured savings accounts, or mortgages.
The charter places Circle within a new federal cohort of institutions built around custody, fiduciary administration, stablecoin reserves, and settlement rather than traditional retail banking. Since December, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted some form of approval to a growing list of crypto and financial firms, including Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, Bridge, Crypto.com, Coinbase, Morgan Stanley, and World Liberty Financial.
Most of these companies are still completing conditions required before they can begin operating under their new charters.