Key Takeaways
- • The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted conditional approval to World Liberty Trust Co. to establish a national trust bank, enabling the Trump-family-backed entity to issue and manage USD1 stablecoins directly rather than relying on third-party services like BitGo.
- • World Liberty Financial, which states it is 38% owned by "an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members," will gain in-house control over stablecoin issuance, reserve management, and digital asset custody operations from Bay Harbor Islands, Florida.
- • The conditional charter approval requires World Liberty Trust Co. to complete additional regulatory steps, including capital raising, before full charter status is granted; the application process follows a sharp increase in crypto-related bank charter applications under the Trump administration, which has received 40 such applications since 2025.
- • Zach Witkoff, CEO of World Liberty Financial and chairman of the OCC-regulated trust company, stated the firm "welcomes continuous scrutiny from Federal regulators for many years to come," signaling compliance commitment as the charter process advances.
- • Bringing stablecoin services in-house represents a strategic shift toward controlling the full value chain of USD1 operations, potentially reducing dependency on third-party intermediaries and capturing transaction economics currently outsourced to providers like BitGo.
Summary
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday granted conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Co., a subsidiary entity sponsored by World Liberty Financial, to establish a national trust bank. According to OCC correspondence posted on the agency's website, the approval enables the Trump-family-backed crypto firm to issue stablecoins—cryptocurrencies backed by safe reserve assets such as U.S. Treasuries and designed to maintain a one-to-one conversion ratio with the U.S. dollar. World Liberty Financial, which discloses 38% ownership by "an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members," currently outsources certain stablecoin services to third-party provider BitGo.
The banking charter represents a significant operational consolidation for World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin platform. With national trust bank status, the company will assume direct control over stablecoin issuance, redemption, reserve management, and digital asset custody functions from its Bay Harbor Islands, Florida headquarters. This vertical integration could substantially improve unit economics by capturing revenues and operational control that previously flowed to external service providers. The conditional nature of the approval means World Liberty must complete additional regulatory requirements, including capital raising, to finalize the charter.
The approval reflects the Trump administration's demonstrated receptivity to cryptocurrency banking applications. Since 2025, the OCC has received 40 bank charter applications, a marked increase from the previous administration, with many tied to crypto projects. Career staff at the OCC conduct the technical review process, though the agency's leadership has emphasized support for new applications. Zach Witkoff, son of Trump's Middle East negotiator Steven Witkoff, serves as CEO of World Liberty Financial and chairman of the OCC-regulated trust company. In a statement, Witkoff emphasized the firm's openness to ongoing regulatory oversight.
The approval underscores the evolving regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance in the United States. A law signed by Trump in 2025 established the regulatory pathway under which stablecoins operate, including constraints on the interest-bearing products that banks issuing stablecoins may offer to depositors. This limitation reflects statutory design choices in the stablecoin authorization framework rather than competitive restrictions. The World Liberty Trust approval represents the first substantive test of this new regulatory regime and may signal the OCC's operational interpretation of permissible activities for stablecoin-issuing banks.
The banking charter represents a significant operational consolidation for World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin platform. With national trust bank status, the company will assume direct control over stablecoin issuance, redemption, reserve management, and digital asset custody functions from its Bay Harbor Islands, Florida headquarters. This vertical integration could substantially improve unit economics by capturing revenues and operational control that previously flowed to external service providers. The conditional nature of the approval means World Liberty must complete additional regulatory requirements, including capital raising, to finalize the charter.
The approval reflects the Trump administration's demonstrated receptivity to cryptocurrency banking applications. Since 2025, the OCC has received 40 bank charter applications, a marked increase from the previous administration, with many tied to crypto projects. Career staff at the OCC conduct the technical review process, though the agency's leadership has emphasized support for new applications. Zach Witkoff, son of Trump's Middle East negotiator Steven Witkoff, serves as CEO of World Liberty Financial and chairman of the OCC-regulated trust company. In a statement, Witkoff emphasized the firm's openness to ongoing regulatory oversight.
The approval underscores the evolving regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance in the United States. A law signed by Trump in 2025 established the regulatory pathway under which stablecoins operate, including constraints on the interest-bearing products that banks issuing stablecoins may offer to depositors. This limitation reflects statutory design choices in the stablecoin authorization framework rather than competitive restrictions. The World Liberty Trust approval represents the first substantive test of this new regulatory regime and may signal the OCC's operational interpretation of permissible activities for stablecoin-issuing banks.
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