Key Takeaways:
The OCC's conditional approval lets the Trump-backed firm bring USD1 issuance and custody in-house from BitGo.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty Trust Co. preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank charter on Friday, clearing the Trump-backed firm to issue its USD1 stablecoin directly.
"This preliminary conditional approval is granted based on a thorough evaluation of all information available to the OCC, including the representations and commitments made in the application and by the Bank's representatives," the regulator said in a letter posted to its website.
The charter lets World Liberty Trust issue USD1, a fiat-backed stablecoin with a $4 billion market cap that ranks as the fourth-largest after Tether and USDC, and custody the dollar assets backing it — roles currently handled by BitGo Bank & Trust, the exclusive issuer and custodian. The firm also plans on-ramp and off-ramp services, custody and conversion for institutional clients including market makers, exchanges and investment firms.
Final approval requires meeting additional preopening requirements, including maintaining at least $20 million in capital, hiring a qualified internal audit manager and notifying the regulator of any major business plan changes. The OCC has received 40 charter applications since 2025, a sharp increase from the prior administration, with Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple and Circle among those securing conditional approvals under Comptroller Jonathan Gould, a former Bitfury chief legal officer.
World Liberty Financial, which says an entity affiliated with President Donald Trump and certain family members owns 38 percent of the company, applied for the charter in January to bring stablecoin services onshore. Reuters estimated the Trump family earned about $50 million from USD1 through the end of June, and that World Liberty funneled more than $1.6 billion to the president and his family as of April.
The trust bank does not intend to become a federally insured depository institution, a "bank" under the Bank Holding Company Act, or seek a Federal Reserve master account, the OCC letter said. That structure keeps it outside the deposit-taking and lending framework that applies to traditional banks while still subjecting it to regular OCC examinations.
World Liberty Trust's leadership is tied to Trump's longtime allies. Zach Witkoff, son of the president's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, is proposed president and also serves as World Liberty Financial's CEO. Steve Witkoff's brother Robert Witkoff and Scott Alper, president of the Witkoff family's real estate business, are proposed directors.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, had urged the OCC to halt the application until Trump divested from the company, arguing the regulator would be responsible for supervising and enforcing the law against the president's own venture. Gould told her in January the agency would act without considering politics and proceed on its normal timeline.
The OCC said in Friday's letter that career staff reviewed the application for consistency with legal and regulatory requirements, and that Gould and staff "acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations." The approval comes as the Clarity Act, a bill to regulate the crypto industry, faces Democratic opposition in part because it does not impose strict limits on the president's ability to profit from crypto ventures.
The charter, once finalized, would let World Liberty capture the fees from issuing and custodying USD1 directly rather than paying BitGo, a shift that could meaningfully expand the firm's revenue as stablecoin issuance becomes one of the most profitable businesses in digital assets. The OCC could still rescind the conditional approval before final sign-off.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
