World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture backed by President Donald Trump and his family, has received conditional preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank. The decision marks a major step toward bringing the company’s stablecoin business under direct federal banking supervision.
World Liberty Trust Company
The proposed institution, World Liberty Trust Company, would focus on digital-asset services rather than traditional banking. Under the conditional approval, the company could issue and manage its USD1 stablecoin, oversee the dollar reserves supporting the token, and provide digital-asset custody services.
However, the charter would not authorize the bank to accept traditional deposits or make conventional loans. World Liberty must also satisfy conditions involving capital, staffing, governance, and other regulatory requirements before receiving final approval.
USD1 has grown rapidly since its launch and now has more than $4 billion in circulation, making it one of the largest dollar-backed stablecoins in the market. The new structure would allow World Liberty to bring stablecoin issuance and reserve management directly into a federally regulated entity.
Political scrutiny intensifies
The approval comes amid intense political scrutiny surrounding World Liberty Financial because of its connections to the Trump family. Critics have questioned whether those relationships create conflicts of interest while the federal government oversees the company’s banking application.
Concerns have also focused on foreign ownership and investments linked to the United Arab Emirates. Regulators have maintained that the charter review followed established supervisory procedures.
The conditional approval nevertheless places World Liberty among a growing group of cryptocurrency companies seeking federal trust bank charters. The broader trend reflects the industry’s push to integrate stablecoins and digital-asset custody into the traditional U.S. financial system.
World Liberty now faces the next stage of regulatory review. If it satisfies the OCC’s conditions and receives final approval, the company would gain a federally supervised banking structure for its expanding USD1 ecosystem.
