If the charter is granted by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, it would enable Circle to act as a custodian for its own reserves and hold crypto assets on behalf of institutional clients. Unlike traditional banks, the license would not allow Circle to take cash deposits or make loans.
"Circle has long sought to seek the highest standards of trust, transparency, governance, compliance," CEO Jeremy Allaire told Reuters in an interview. "Becoming a publicly traded company is a significant part of that, becoming a national trust company is again a continuation of that."
