Circle obtains NYDFS charter of trust amid doubts about GENIUS bill to promote USDC issuance

Circle has registered a New York trust company to issue USDC, but the path limit for qualified issuers under the GENIUS Act is $10 billion, and USDC supply is about seven times that amount. Circle also holds a separate federal charter for custody purposes only. Neither Circle nor regulators said how this number would be reconciled.

Circle Internet Group announced on Friday that Circle Internet Trust Company LLC (operating as Circle New York Trust) has obtained a limited purpose trust license issued by the New York Department of Financial Services. This is the ultimate entity for USDC distribution that Circle specified in its filing with the OCC.

Circle has obtained a limited purpose trust license from the New York Department of Financial Services for use in the Circle New York Trust. This is an important step in strengthening the regulatory foundation of Circle and the USDC.

USDC's circulating supply is approximately US$72 billion, and Circle's newly acquired New York trust path falls within the GENIUS Act's state-qualified issuer framework, which stipulates that without federal exemptions, when outstanding stablecoins exceed $10 billion, supervision from state regulators alone is insufficient to meet the requirements. Circle, a newly incorporated entity, issues stablecoins that are about seven times that limit.

This is the latest chapter in Circle's relationship with regulators, dating back to the BitLicense it obtained in 2015. What was not mentioned in the announcement was why the issuance ended up in New York, since Circle already held another newly obtained federal charter that could have carried issuing functions.

On July 29, 2026, Circle acquired IBM's blockchain patent portfolio, claiming to be a leader in the U.S. blockchain patent field. The move strengthens its regulated digital asset and stablecoin strategies. [TAG 1]

Custody by OCC, issuance by NYDFS

Three weeks ago, the OCC finally approved First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., It operates under the name Circle National Trust, a national trust bank established specifically for custody and lists reserve management as a "future capability."

The accompanying conditional approval letter of December 12, 2025 (which later became official) clearly stated that the OCC's original words were "the bank will not issue stablecoins." In addition, there were reports that the charter did not allow lending, but the letter itself did not mention this detail.

It was in the same document that Circle revealed for the first time (almost incidentally) that the issuance function was always planned to be located elsewhere: a New York limited purpose trust company. This is the entity that received the charter today.

Circle did not merge the USDC's regulatory landscape into one place, but established two entities, which were clearly divided according to functions: custody belongs to the OCC and issuance belongs to the NYDFS. This directly corresponds to the fork created by the GENIUS Act itself between federally qualified non-bank issuers and state-qualified issuers.

From application to obtaining license: thirteen months

Today's license ends a journey, the spirit of which dates back to September 2015, when Circle became the first company to hold a New York BitLicense:

September 2015: Circle received the first BitLicense from the NYDFS

June 2025: Circle applies to OCC for National Trust Bank Charter

December 12, 2025: OCC grants conditional approval

July 10, 2026: OCC converts it into a formal charter (Circle National Trust)

July 31, 2026: The NYDFS's approval of the Circle New York Trust Charter

's 11-year historical relationship with the same regulatory agency is a reasonable reason why Circle chose to seek issuing functions from the NYDFS rather than establish a new relationship with the OCC from scratch, but this is an inference in this article and not as stated in the Circle announcement.

The un-mentioned $10 billion cap

None of this solves the actual numbers problem. The USDC exceeded the $10 billion mark many years ago. Whether Circle plans to remain subject to federal supervision beyond that limit, relies on exemptions, or waits for the Treasury Department's unfinished "substantially similar" certification process to clarify terms, today's announcement or previous OCC documents did not mention.

In the search for this article, no public statements from Circle, NYDFS or the Treasury Department were found to involve this specific mechanism. Unless one of the parties directly addresses the $10 billion gap, that figure, not today's announcement, will be the factor that truly defines the scope of the concession.

FAQ

1. What is the difference between Circle National Trust and Circle New York Trust?

Circle National Trust is an OCC-chartered federal entity approved only for digital asset custody; its approval letter clearly states that "stablecoins will not be issued." Circle New York Trust is the NYDFS chartered state entity announced today and is the future USDC issuer designated by Circle in the OCC filing.

2. If USDC is worth $72 billion, why is the $10 billion cap important?

The GENIUS Act allows state-licensed issuers to be subject to primary state regulation when outstanding stablecoins do not exceed US$10 billion; beyond this limit, federal regulation will apply unless exempted. The USDC has been well above $10 billion for many years, so the cap does not seem to match the actual size of the USDC.

3. Did Circle explain how its plans to resolve this contradiction?

Not yet at the time of publication of this article. No statements from Circle, NYDFS or the Treasury Department regarding this specific mechanism were found.