To The Moon

$Circle Internet Corp.(CRCL)$ $CRCL Applies for Trust Bank License 🏦: Road Back to $200?

📰 Breaking News Recap

Circle has officially applied for a U.S. national trust bank license through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). If approved, it would operate under the name National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., giving Circle the ability to custody USDC reserves and manage assets directly for institutional clients under federal oversight. This development could mark a turning point in the company's transformation from crypto-native to institutional-grade financial platform.

🏛️ Strategic Implications

This move signals Circle’s ambition to compete at the intersection of crypto infrastructure and traditional banking. A trust bank charter would give it a compliance-first position in an environment where regulatory scrutiny is accelerating. It also lays the groundwork for onboarding risk-averse capital, expanding custody partnerships, and potentially offering tokenized financial instruments in a secure and regulated manner. The optics are strong—Circle wants to become a crypto-native custodian with Wall Street credibility.

📊 Valuation Snapshot

Currently, $CRCL trades under $130, well off its 2024 highs above $190. Notably, Goldman Sachs recently issued a price target of $83, citing valuation concerns at 60x forward earnings. The license application may improve long-term visibility, but short-term investors are still weighing execution risks. To justify a return to $200, Circle likely needs to scale institutional AUM, grow USDC adoption, and prove that regulatory positioning translates into margin growth—not just headline appeal.

💡 My Take on $CRCL

This is a strategic play, and a smart one. Applying for a trust bank license shows Circle is serious about long-term institutional adoption. But this is also a regulatory bet, and the timeline for approval remains uncertain. I'm cautiously bullish around the $110–$120 zone, with an eye on stablecoin market share and custody traction. If Circle starts onboarding large clients post-approval, the bullish thesis could firm up fast. But without that, $200 still feels optimistic in the near term.

🔁 Watchlist & Comparables

Investors should also watch $COIN, which already holds money transmission licenses and has launched institutional custody services, and $PayPal(PYPL)$ , which is expanding its stablecoin ambitions via its Paxos partnership. Circle's advantage? If approved, it would be the first federally chartered crypto-native stablecoin bank, giving it a first-mover edge in regulated Web3 finance. That status could unlock partnerships that others can't touch—yet.

📣 Conclusion + CTA

📢 Banking license in the pipeline—will $CRCL become the JP Morgan of Web3? Is $200 realistic or still a stretch? Let me know your buy range, PT, or if you're waiting for confirmation. 🚀

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