Circle adds a New York trust charter to USDC's regulatory stack
The NYDFS has granted Circle Internet Trust Company a limited purpose trust charter, putting the USDC issuer under the New York Banking Law a decade after it took the first BitLicense.
Regulator
New York State Department of Financial Services
New York's banking and insurance supervisor. It has run the BitLicense regime since 2015 and charters the limited purpose trust companies through which a large part of the American stablecoin and digital asset custody business is supervised.
The profile
The supervisor of state-chartered banks, insurers and licensed financial services firms in New York, formed in 2011 by merging the state banking and insurance departments. Its significance to this beat rests on two instruments. The BitLicense, introduced in 2015, was the first bespoke state licence for virtual currency business and remains among the most demanding. The limited purpose trust charter, issued under the New York Banking Law, lets a company provide fiduciary, custody and asset-management services without taking consumer deposits or making loans, and has become the perch of choice for stablecoin issuers and digital asset custodians: Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo and Circle all hold one. Because New York supervision is examined rather than merely registered, the charter carries weight beyond the state.
Frameworks and functions
- BitLicense
- Virtual currency business licence introduced in 2015, covering transmission, custody, exchange and issuance for firms serving New York residents.
- Limited purpose trust charter
- Charter under the New York Banking Law permitting fiduciary, custody and asset-management services, with no consumer deposit-taking and no lending.
Coverage
Developments in which New York State Department of Financial Services is a named party, newest first.
On the record
Circle receives a New York limited purpose trust charter
The New York State Department of Financial Services granted Circle Internet Trust Company LLC, trading as Circle New York Trust, a limited purpose trust charter on 31 July 2026, permitting fiduciary, custody and asset-management services under the New York Banking Law. It sits alongside the national trust bank approval the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave Circle on 10 July 2026.