Circle's $73.2B USDC Gets OCC Approval but Faces GENIUS Act Yield Ban; Tether Exempt

According to Circle's announcement on July 10, 2026, Circle received final OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust, placing the company's $73.2B USDC under direct federal oversight for the first time. However, the GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, prohibits US-regulated stablecoin issuers from paying any form of yield or interest to holders—a restriction that does not bind Tether's global USDT, which operates outside the US framework.

The yield prohibition creates a competitive asymmetry. Circle's revenue was 95–99% dependent on interest earned from USDC reserves from 2022 to 2024, according to the company's S-1 filing. Tether, by contrast, earned over $10 billion in net profit during 2025 on Treasury yields from reserve assets. Tether can offer yield-bearing products through its offshore entities and has separately launched USA₮ through a nationally chartered US bank structure, circumventing the yield ban. The GENIUS Act takes effect on January 18, 2027.