Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL), the issuer of USDC — the world's second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization — announced Friday that it has secured a limited purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

The trust charter is a state-level banking authorization that permits the holder to legally provide fiduciary, custody, and asset-management services under the New York Banking Law. For Circle, obtaining it means the company can now operate under direct NYDFS supervision in one of the most stringent U.S. regulatory environments, a signal that may carry weight with institutional clients navigating their own compliance requirements.

"Earning a New York trust charter has been a longstanding objective for Circle given the regulatory clarity that comes with it," said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle.

Circle's stock price held flat Friday morning at $64.24. The company's stablecoin, USDC, currently has a market capitalization exceeding $71.8 billion.

The New York charter follows another major regulatory milestone earlier this month, when Circle received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, as previously reported. National trust banks are authorized to provide custody and fiduciary services but, unlike traditional commercial banks, do not accept consumer deposits or extend loans. Holding both a national trust charter and a New York state charter positions Circle under dual federal and state oversight, a structure that mirrors the layered regulatory approach seen in traditional financial institutions.

The stablecoin issuer stated that the national bank would "enhance the safety and regulatory oversight of the USDC Reserve, while enabling Circle to offer fiduciary digital asset custody and related services to institutional customers."

Circle's latest authorization places it among a growing group of cryptocurrency firms that have obtained the limited purpose trust charter from the NYDFS, including Coinbase, Moonpay, Bitgo, and Paxos. The expansion of chartered crypto firms comes as stablecoin regulation continues to take shape following the passage of federal stablecoin legislation, which established a clearer framework for issuers operating in the U.S. market.

Notably, Circle was the first company to receive a BitLicense from the NYDFS nearly six years ago, marking an early milestone in its regulatory journey.

Source: CoinDesk