CRCL call traders are buying into the bank charter excitement
Circle Internet Group Inc (NYSE:CRCL) is brushing off tech sector weakness this morning, last seen up 14.2% to trade at $71.99. The fintech is heading for its best single-session gain since May 11, after receiving final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a cryptocurrency-focused national bank trust. The bank will operate under the name Circle National Trust.
The timing couldn't have been better for the blockchain focused stock, which was in the midst of three-straight weekly losses and yesterday was trading around its lowest levels since February. CRCL is now only down 11.5% in 2026, but is a ways off its July 2025 all-time high of $262.97.
Despite its underperformance on the charts, calls are prevalent. Circle's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.60 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the 93rd annual percentile of its annual range.
Today is more of the same. In just the first half hour of trading, 65,000 calls have changed hands, volume that's 14 times the average intraday amount and almost six times the number of puts exchanged. The weekly 7/10 75-strike call is the most popular, while new positions are also opening at the standard series July 75 call.