Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL) President Heath Tarbert called the company’s newly approved national trust bank a "historic" milestone for the company and the U.S. crypto industry.
The ‘Historic Milestone’
Speaking on Fox Business on July 13, Tarbert said Circle has become the first digital asset company in U.S. history to receive approval for a federal trust bank, allowing it to directly manage the reserves backing its USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) stablecoin under federal oversight.
The newly launched Circle National Trust Bank will not accept consumer deposits or issue loans.
Instead, it will initially oversee USDC reserves and provide digital asset custody services, with plans to eventually expand custody offerings beyond Circle’s affiliated entities.
Tarbert said the move places Circle under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s regulatory framework, which he described as the “gold standard” for financial regulation.
Circle shares closed 4.8% lower on Monday and are down another 2.3% in premarket trading at the time of writing.
CLARITY Act "More Than Regulation"
Tarbert said USDC remains the largest regulated stablecoin, accounting for roughly 70% of regulated dollar stablecoin transaction volume and operating across 34 blockchain networks with about $73 billion in circulation.
He argued that the recently enacted GENIUS Act provides the legal foundation for stablecoins to become a core part of the U.S. financial system, enabling faster, lower-cost payments, treasury management and financial settlement.
Tarbert also urged lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act, saying legal certainty is essential for banks and financial institutions looking to enter the digital asset sector.
"It’s more than just financial regulation," he said. "It’s an upgrade of the U.S. payment system and allows the U.S. to lead the next generation of the internet, the internet of value."
Addressing competition from the newly announced OpenUSDT consortium, backed by companies including Visa (NASDAQ:V), Mastercard (NASDAQ:MA), Stripe and Google, Tarbert welcomed additional entrants but said USDC’s regulatory status, global adoption and network effects would be difficult to replicate.
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