USDC Issuer Circle Inches Closer to Becoming US Bank Charter

USDC issuer and global payments company Circle continues to edge closer to becoming a charter crypto bank in the United States, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Circle Closer to Becoming a Crypto Bank

Circle has revealed that it is a step closer to filing an application to obtain a license that will allow it to run a bank in the US.  The company initially announced its plans to become a crypto bank in August 2021.

The move comes at a time when it is difficult for crypto-related firms to obtain a banking license in the US.

Despite the hurdle, Circle’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jeremy Allaire, has expressed strong optimism of a positive outcome. While he did not provide a specific time frame for submitting the application form, Allaire said it would be “hopefully in the near future.”

Flash of Green Light

If the application is approved, Circle will be added to the list of national commercial crypto banks in the United States, making it fourth on the list.

According to Allaire, rather than delay, the Office of the Controller of Currency (OCC), which is the primary regulator of banks in the US, has been hard at work to improve its requirements for crypto-focused companies in the past year. 

“They have been doing a lot of work, laying the groundwork for how they are going to supervise crypto, how they are going to supervise stablecoin especially,” he said. 

Over the years, the stablecoin issuer has earned a long-standing record of compliance with US regulators. In October 2021, Circle was summoned by the SEC with an investigative subpoena, to which the crypto firm said it would tender unreserved cooperation with the regulators’ requirements.

Meanwhile, the USDC issue recently raised $400 million in a new funding round that will end in Q2. The latest capital injection will be channeled into harnessing new avenues to move the crypto company to the next level.