World Liberty wins conditional approval for US trust bank

World Liberty Financial has received preliminary OCC approval to establish a national trust bank that would issue USD1, manage its reserves, and provide digital asset custody across the United States.

World Liberty bank cannot open until conditions are met

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in its Aug. 14 decision that it had granted preliminary conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Company, National Association. The proposed bank would operate from Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Delaware-registered WLTC Holdings LLC.

Preliminary approval permits the company to organize the bank but does not allow it to start operations. The OCC said World Liberty Trust must complete its preopening requirements and obtain final authorization under federal banking law before conducting business.

Until final approval is issued, the regulator can modify, suspend, or withdraw its decision if new information raises concerns. World Liberty Trust must also apply for stock in a Federal Reserve Bank, maintain at least $20 million in eligible capital, and receive the OCC’s written confirmation that all opening conditions have been met.

Under its proposed business plan, World Liberty Trust would issue and redeem the dollar-backed USD1 stablecoin for institutional clients across the country. The bank would also maintain reserves, offer custody services, and let custody customers convert approved stablecoins into USD1 using assets already held with the institution.

World Liberty Trust would not operate as a standard commercial bank. Its proposed charter does not cover ordinary retail deposits or conventional lending, with the business instead limited to trust, custody, reserve, and related payment services.

Citing the National Bank Act and the GENIUS Act, the OCC said national trust banks may provide digital asset custody and issue payment stablecoins. The agency also reported that uninsured national trust banks under its supervision held $7.2 trillion in assets under administration as of March 31, including $1.7 trillion in custody and safekeeping accounts.

USD1 operations would move from BitGo

Once authorized to open, World Liberty Trust plans to replace BitGo Bank & Trust as the exclusive issuer and custodian of USD1. The OCC said the proposed bank would acquire the token’s reserve assets and assume the liabilities tied to them.

Federal rules governing transactions between banks and their affiliates could apply to the transfer. However, the agency approved an exemption from certain limits, collateral rules, and restrictions on low-quality assets under Regulation W as part of its review of the new institution.

BitGo will remain responsible for USD1 issuance and custody until the proposed bank completes the OCC’s conditions. World Liberty Trust would need additional regulatory clearance if the final structure of the reserve transfer triggers other federal bank merger requirements.

For American institutions using USD1, an operating national trust bank would place issuance, reserve management, and custody under direct OCC supervision. Federal status would also let the bank provide its approved services nationwide under one regulator instead of securing separate state permissions.

World Liberty Chairman and President Zach Witkoff said the structure would put USD1’s main functions under the same federal supervisor.

“A national trust bank brings USD1 issuance, custody, and reserve management together under OCC supervision, examined on the same standards that have governed banks for generations.”

Witkoff also said the company welcomed “continuous scrutiny from federal regulators.”

World Liberty has joined several crypto companies pursuing federal trust structures. The OCC conditionally approved applications involving Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos in December 2025, while Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Stripe-owned Bridge later received similar decisions.

Circle completed its preopening requirements and obtained final authorization for its national trust bank in July. The process shows that conditional approval alone does not permit a proposed institution to begin banking operations.

Trump family ties trigger a Senate bill

Political scrutiny has followed the application because President Donald Trump and his three sons are affiliated with World Liberty. The company’s website has said that a Trump family-linked entity controls about 38% of its equity interests.

Trump nominated Comptroller Jonathan Gould in 2025, leading several Democratic lawmakers to question whether the regulator could review the application independently. Before the decision, Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the OCC to delay its review until Trump gave up his financial interest in the company.

As crypto.news reported in June, Warren challenged Gould during a Senate Banking Committee hearing and argued that the application presented conflict-of-interest and national security concerns. Gould said the agency would follow its legal duties and handle the review through a nonpartisan process.

Addressing the issue in its approval, the OCC said, “the Comptroller and staff acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations with respect to the Application.” Career agency employees reviewed the filing, while nonpolitical examiners would supervise the bank, according to the decision.

The OCC also disclosed that it received seven comments from four commenters. Two questioned whether the proposed activities fit the legal powers of a national trust bank, while three argued that the public lacked enough information or time to comment.

Agency officials rejected both objections. The decision said World Liberty submitted the required public and confidential information on time, and the comment period complied with federal rules.

After the approval, Warren and nine other senators introduced the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act. The proposal would prevent a president, vice president, their spouses or their children from owning or controlling a bank.

Senate Banking Committee Democrats said the measure would require federal agencies, within 60 days of enactment, to review banking applications approved after Jan. 20, 2025. Regulators would have to terminate an approval issued while a person covered by the bill owned or controlled the applicant.

“This is the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen — and Congress cannot allow it to stand,” Warren said.

The legislation is backed by Senators Chris Van Hollen, Angela Alsobrooks, Chris Murphy, Bernie Sanders, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed, Andy Kim, Tammy Duckworth, and Ruben Gallego.

UAE investment remains under congressional review

Congressional questions also cover World Liberty’s foreign investors and its transactions involving USD1. An Abu Dhabi company backed by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan reportedly purchased a 49% interest in World Liberty for $500 million through an agreement signed in January 2025.

In June, five Democratic senators requested congressional hearings into the transaction. Their letter asked whether the investment affected subsequent Trump administration decisions involving UAE arms sales and access to advanced artificial intelligence chips.

The OCC said it considered public comments about World Liberty’s non-US investors. Its decision found that the foreign investors were not principal shareholders of the proposed bank, while several investors signed agreements promising not to control or influence its operations.

StringZ Holdings, DT Marks SC, and AMGUS made those commitments in July. Under the agreements, the investors cannot appoint bank employees, seek board seats, obtain material nonpublic information, or influence management decisions, pricing, personnel, and operations.

Eric Trump signed the commitment for DT Marks in his role as president of the Trump family-linked entity. Any voting interest of 10% or more must remain an investment, while voting power above 9.9% would be exercised through a proxy using the same proportion as votes cast by other shareholders.

Separate scrutiny has centered on MGX, another Abu Dhabi entity chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon. MGX used $2 billion in USD1 for an investment in Binance in May 2025, helping increase the stablecoin’s circulation.

A February report on USD1 cited Arkham Intelligence data showing that Binance-controlled wallets and customer accounts held about $4.7 billion of the token, equal to nearly 87% of its $5.4 billion supply at the time. Binance said exchanges commonly hold large amounts of listed assets, while World Liberty and the exchange denied having an improper relationship.

President Trump later pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. A White House spokesperson has repeatedly rejected allegations that Trump’s investments create conflicts, saying his assets are held in a trust managed by his children and that administration decisions are made independently of family business activities.