The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary approval Friday for World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture co-founded by President Trump and his sons, to establish a national trust bank that would issue and manage its USD1 stablecoin.
If it receives final approval, World Liberty Trust Company would be allowed to issue and redeem USD1, hold the assets backing it, and safeguard digital assets for institutional customers. It wouldn’t be permitted to accept federally insured deposits or make conventional bank loans.
“The OCC hereby grants preliminary conditional approval of your charter application upon determining that your proposal meets certain regulatory and policy requirements,” the agency said.
The approval isn’t final. World Liberty must meet a series of conditions before it can begin operating, including maintaining at least $20 million in capital and keeping at least half of that in liquid assets. The OCC can modify, suspend, or rescind the approval if circumstances change.
World Liberty Trust would be headquartered in Bay Harbor Islands, Fla.
USD1, introduced by World Liberty Financial in March 2025, has grown into the fourth-largest stablecoin, with a market value of about $4 billion. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to hold the value of one dollar, generally by holding reserves of cash, Treasury securities, or other readily available assets.
USD1 is currently issued by BitGo Bank & Trust, which also holds the assets backing it. Under the plan approved Friday, World Liberty Trust would take over those functions, bringing USD1’s issuance and reserves under the direct supervision of a federal banking regulator.
World Liberty has said the trust bank would serve cryptocurrency exchanges, investment firms, and other institutional customers.
The OCC said the proposed activities are permitted under federal banking law. It also noted that Congress expressly recognized the authority of uninsured national banks to issue stablecoins when it enacted the GENIUS Act.
The decision followed objections from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and other critics who argued that Trump’s financial interest in World Liberty created a conflict for the administration.
At a February hearing, Warren urged Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould to reject the application and said approving it would make him an “accomplice” to corruption. She demanded access to the company’s unredacted application and questioned whether investors linked to the United Arab Emirates had been properly disclosed.
Gould declined to discuss confidential portions of the application and said the OCC would follow its established procedures.
“And I would note that the only political pressure I have felt from any part of the United States Government, Senator, is from you,” Gould told Warren.
The OCC said Friday that career employees reviewed the application and that career examiners would supervise the bank.
“The Comptroller and staff acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations with respect to the Application,” the agency said.
The OCC also rejected arguments that foreign investment in World Liberty Financial required it to deny or delay the application. World Liberty Financial isn’t itself applying for the charter, the agency said, and the foreign investors cited by critics wouldn’t own or control the proposed bank.
The bank also won’t issue or hold World Liberty Financial’s separate WLFI cryptocurrency token. Three investors, including a company headed by Eric Trump, agreed not to seek management or board positions or attempt to direct the bank’s policies.
Zach Witkoff, chief executive of World Liberty Financial and the son of Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, would serve as the trust bank’s president and as a director. The proposed board also includes Robert Witkoff, Scott Alper, and two independent directors.
The OCC has granted preliminary approval to national trust banks proposed by several other digital-asset companies, including Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Crypto.com parent Foris DAX.
In a post on X Friday, the OCC said it had returned to its core mission of welcoming new entrants while protecting the safety and soundness of the financial system. It declared the U.S. and the agency “once again open for business.”
The OCC approved no charters for newly formed banks in 2024, the final year of Biden’s presidency. It approved seven in 2025 and has approved 15 so far this year.
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