Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Circle won final OCC approval to create a federally regulated national trust bank, giving its USDC business a deeper foothold inside the US banking system, Robinhood's newly launched layer-2 saw more than $70 million in ETH bridged in its first week, and investors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at Bitcoin miners that pivoted to AI infrastructure.

USDC issuer Circle wins final approval for US national trust bank charter

USDC stablecoin issuer Circle on Friday announced it received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish First National Digital Currency Bank (FNDCB), a national trust bank that will operate under the name Circle National Trust.

“OCC approval to establish Circle National Trust marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the US financial system,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said.

The approval comes after Circle applied for the charter in June 2025, allowing it to establish a federally regulated trust institution and expand its digital asset custody infrastructure.

Circle National Trust will initially provide fiduciary digital asset custody services for Circle and its affiliated companies, according to the company’s approved business plan.

The bank could later expand those services to a limited group of institutional customers, including banks and other financial institutions such as regulated derivatives firms, if demand develops.

Source: Circle

Robinhood Chain sees over $70 million in ETH bridged in first week

The amount of Ether bridged to Robinhood’s new layer-2 blockchain exceeded $70 million in just the first week, according to Token Terminal. 

Robinhood Chain, an EVM-compatible Arbitrum-based layer-2 network that uses ETH as its native gas token, launched on July 1 with the company describing it as “AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets.” 

“If adoption continues, the chain could become a meaningful new source of demand for ETH,” said Token Terminal on Thursday. 

Robinhood has also offered tokenized stocks to customers in more than 120 countries, responding to a surging demand for tokenized US equities. Ethereum and its layer-2 scaling networks have been a popular choice for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) with more than 50% market share, according to RWA.xyz, and this move could cement that position even further. 

ETH bridged to Robinhood Chain tops $70 million. Source: Token Terminal 

Bitcoin miners' AI pivot draws investor scrutiny over insider stock sales

Investors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies that pivoted toward AI infrastructure after the sector's rally lost momentum, according to the latest Miner Weekly newsletter from Blocksbridge Consulting.

The research firm said the AI narrative helped drive sharp valuation gains for miners repositioning around data centers and hyperscaler partnerships. But with AI-related stocks retreating in recent weeks, attention has shifted to executives and major shareholders who sold stock during the rally, including insiders at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and Core Scientific. Stablecoin issuer Tether also reduced its stake in Bitdeer after the company's AI-driven rebound.

Blocksbridge noted that many of the transactions were conducted under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, a common mechanism for insider sales. Even so, the firm said investors are increasingly focused on governance and whether the benefits of miners' AI expansion will ultimately accrue to public shareholders.

The report comes as Bitcoin miners continue investing heavily in AI infrastructure to diversify beyond cryptocurrency mining, despite growing questions about whether those investments will generate meaningful long-term returns.