OCC Clears Path for Trump Family Crypto Venture to Bring USD1 Stablecoin Under Federal Bank Oversight
OCC Clears Path for Trump Family Crypto Venture to Bring USD1 Stablecoin Under Federal Bank Oversight #
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval to World Liberty Trust Company, a subsidiary of the Trump-linked crypto platform World Liberty Financial, to establish a national trust bank. The approval would allow the firm to issue and manage its own stablecoin directly under federal supervision.
The OCC’s decision, dated August 14, follows an application filed in January 2026. World Liberty Financial was co-founded by Donald Trump, listed in company filings as co-founder emeritus, alongside his three sons Eric, Donald Jr. and Barron Trump, and Zach Witkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff will serve as CEO and chairman of the proposed bank.
The charter, once all conditions are met, would allow World Liberty Trust to take direct control of USD1, the firm’s dollar-backed stablecoin, with issuance, custody, and reserve management all brought under OCC supervision. That function is currently handled by BitGo National Trust Company, which has served as the exclusive issuer and custodian for USD1. The OCC’s decision letter states the bank plans to offer digital asset custody services as a fiduciary, primarily to USD1 customers and other institutional clients.
Among the conditions attached to the approval is a requirement that the bank’s stablecoin activities comply with the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act, with any activities found to violate the law subject to mandatory divestiture or cessation.
The approval has drawn political scrutiny. Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren had previously urged the OCC to reject the application unless Trump divested his financial stake in the company, calling it a conflict of interest on an unprecedented scale. The OCC stated in its letter that career staff conducted the review and acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations, and noted that questions around the Emoluments Clause were outside the scope of its review.
Three entities, including DT Marks, a holding company connected to the Donald Trump Revocable Trust, submitted passivity commitments pledging not to seek board representation or influence the bank’s key decisions. A UAE-linked investor and a World Liberty co-founder filed similar pledges. Separately, Changpeng Zhao, the Binance founder who received a presidential pardon from Trump in October 2025, is reported to control a substantial portion of USD1 tokens currently in circulation. Emirati officials are also reported to have purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial shortly before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
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