Shares of Circle Internet Group surged Friday after the company announced the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of Currency had approved it to establish a national trust bank for digital currency.

Circle Internet stock advanced 15% to $72.34 in premarket trading on Friday after ending Thursday down 1.7%.

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest funds purchased nearly 218,000 shares of Circle Internet the day before the company made the announcement.

A trading notice Thursday revealed prominent tech bull Wood added 217,896 shares across the ARK Innovation ETF, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, and the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF. Circle shares make up 3.1%, 3%, and 4.3% of each respective fund.

Circle Internet said Friday in a press release that the OCC approval marks a key regulatory milestone and will strengthen the infrastructure of USDC, the company's flagship dollar-pegged token, by bringing it under direct federal oversight.

The bank will operate under the name Circle National Trust, according to the media release.

Circle National Trust will offer digital asset custody services for Circle Internet and its affiliates. The bank could also offer services to some "institutional customers."

"Federal oversight of our trust bank sets a new standard for transparency, governance, and scale for Circle's infrastructure and unlocks a new phase of adoption, where leading financial institutions can build on public blockchains with clarity and confidence," CEO Jeremy Allaire said in the media release.

Circle Internet submitted its application to the OCC a year ago and received a conditional approval in December.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency whose value is typically attached to the U.S. dollar and backed by safe assets such as bank deposits or Treasury bills. For years USDC, which Circle Inernet and Coinbase co-founded, has reigned as the largest U.S.-based stablecoin.

Coinbase rose 4.6% to $165.80 on Friday.

Stablecoins have traditionally been used to trade for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They've also caught on as a low-cost alternative for remittances and as an easy way for consumers in countries with high inflation to protect their spending power. Circle Internet and other crypto companies have bet on the idea that stablecoins will also be used in everyday payments, and lately Circle executives have touted their potential use in payments by artificial intelligence-powered "agents."

Along with Circle Internet's announcement, cryptocurrencies were rising. Bitcoin prices have gained 2.6% over the past 24 hours to $64,385, according to CoinDesk. Ethereum increased 3%.

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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July 10, 2026 07:31 ET (11:31 GMT)

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