The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted conditional preliminary approval for World Liberty Financial, President Donald Trump’s flagship crypto venture, to operate as a national trust bank.
The charter will allow World Liberty to issue, redeem, and safeguard USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin that the company launched last year. The stablecoin currently has a market value of about $4 billion and is the fourth-largest stablecoin in the world.
The trust company, which applied for the charter in January, must still satisfy regulatory conditions and undergo a final OCC examination before opening for business. National trust banks generally cannot accept deposits or make loans in the same way as traditional banks.
The Trump Family’s Stake
World Liberty Financial says on its website that an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain family members owns 38% of the company. The venture has proved lucrative for Trump, with his latest financial disclosure showing he received about $515 million from sales of World Liberty Financial tokens.
The company must maintain at least $20 million in capital and hire a qualified internal audit manager as part of the conditional approval.
Conflicts of Interest
Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have criticized the application because of Trump’s financial stake in crypto. In January, Warren sent a letter to the OCC demanding that it stop its review until Trump divests from the company and halts conflicts of interest.
“If the application is approved, you would promulgate rules that influence the profitability of the President’s company,” Warren wrote. “You would also be responsible for directly supervising and enforcing the law against the President’s company—and its competitors.”
The OCC said it “acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations” and that the application was reviewed by career staff.
The Witkoff Connection
World Liberty Trust’s leadership is deeply intertwined with Trump’s longtime allies, the Witkoff family. Zach Witkoff, the CEO of World Liberty Financial, is the son of Trump’s special diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff. Robert Witkoff, Steve’s brother, will be a director of the trust company.
Zach Witkoff defended the regulatory process, saying the company had submitted “probably one of the most thoroughly reviewed applications in the history of the OCC”.
The Bottom Line
The OCC has granted conditional preliminary approval for World Liberty Financial to operate as a national trust bank. The charter would allow the Trump family’s crypto firm to issue, redeem, and safeguard its USD1 stablecoin. The company must still meet regulatory conditions before opening. Democrats have raised conflict-of-interest concerns, while the OCC says the application was reviewed by career staff.
