Circle received a New York trust charter from NYDFS, adding state-level oversight alongside its new federal OCC bank approval. CEO Jeremy Allaire called the NYDFS an international standard setter for digital asset regulation.
Circle has received a limited-purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, adding state-level supervision to the stablecoin issuer's expanding U.S. regulatory base.
The charter, granted to Circle Internet Trust Company LLC doing business as Circle New York Trust, gives the company another authorization in New York, where it says its global headquarters is located. Circle described the approval as a reinforcement of its compliance framework and a continuation of a relationship with the NYDFS that began in 2015, when it became the first firm to receive a BitLicense.
The New York approval comes less than a month after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave final clearance for Circle to establish a federally supervised trust bank, First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., which will operate as Circle National Trust. Circle has said management of USDC reserves would remain outside the federal bank during its initial phase, with reserve activities expected to move later. The New York charter follows a separate path: Circle previously indicated that USDC issuance would continue through a New York limited-purpose trust company rather than its federally chartered bank.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said obtaining a New York trust charter had been a long-term objective because of the regulatory clarity associated with the state's framework. He called the NYDFS an international standard setter for digital asset regulation and said the approval places USDC within what he described as a strong and respected regulatory framework as digital dollars become more important in global finance.
The trust charter arrives as Circle expands beyond U.S. borders. In July the company acquired more than 680 IBM patent families covering nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide, with applications spanning blockchain infrastructure, banking, payments, enterprise systems, insurance, supply-chain verification and secure cloud operations. Circle said the portfolio supports products including USDC, Circle Payments Network and Arc. It did not disclose financial terms or identify which patents directly relate to stablecoin issuance or payment infrastructure.
Earlier in July, Circle signed separate memorandums of understanding with South Korea's Kakao Group and fintech operator Toss to explore blockchain payments, cross-border settlement and stablecoin infrastructure. Circle said the discussions include possible connections between future KRW-denominated digital assets, USDC and existing financial networks, although no commercial launch has been announced. The company has said it does not plan to issue its own won-denominated stablecoin, instead positioning USDC as infrastructure that could connect local digital currencies with international payment networks.
The New York charter and the OCC approval operate under different legal frameworks and together expand Circle's regulatory footprint without replacing one another. The state-level charter governs Circle New York Trust under NYDFS oversight, while the federal charter establishes a national trust bank under OCC supervision.
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