Circle secures USDC bank charter amid market pressures and revenue‑sharing disputes

Circle announced that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave final approval for a national trust bank, allowing the company to operate the Circle National Trust and manage USDC reserves directly. The news lifted the share price about 5% before it fell back roughly 4.7% to $63.03 as investors weighed the regulatory win against ongoing challenges.

JPMorgan cut earnings forecasts for Circle and Coinbase after the two firms signed a revenue‑sharing agreement with crypto exchange Hyperliquid. Under the deal, Coinbase will keep the USDC reserve yield on Hyperliquid but return 90% to the platform, reducing Circle’s share of income. Hyperliquid holds roughly $6 billion of USDC, about 8% of the token’s circulating supply.

Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating on Circle, highlighting a steep decline in USDC’s circulating supply—down about $7 billion since March to around $74 billion—and noting heightened competition from the newly launched Open USD stablecoin, backed by a consortium of more than 140 firms including Mastercard, Stripe and Coinbase.

In Japan, payment network JCB signed a memorandum of understanding with Circle’s affiliate to explore cross‑border fund transfers and merchant payments using USDC, extending the stablecoin’s use case beyond the United States.