Catenaa, Thursday, August 20, 2026-The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved a national trust bank for World Liberty Financial affiliates, opening a path for the Trump-linked crypto venture to bring issuance and custody of its USD1 stablecoin under its own federally supervised institution.
The Aug. 14 decision grants preliminary approval to World Liberty Trust Company, National Association, based in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida.
The approval is not a final banking charter. The company must satisfy capital, compliance, technology and pre-opening requirements before it can begin operations.
The OCC can modify, suspend or withdraw the approval if circumstances change before final authorization.
But the regulator’s decision reveals how World Liberty intends to restructure its stablecoin business.
The proposed trust bank plans to become the nationwide issuer of USD1, taking over that function from BitGo Bank & Trust, currently USD1’s exclusive issuer and custodian.
World Liberty Trust plans to issue and redeem dollar-backed stablecoins, maintain reserves, custody digital assets and offer conversion services to institutional customers.
Once established, the trust bank intends to acquire USD1 reserve assets and associated liabilities from BitGo.
That would move a central part of World Liberty’s stablecoin infrastructure from an outside financial institution into a federally supervised entity sharing indirect owners with World Liberty Financial.
Custody services would primarily target USD1 customers and other institutional clients.
Approved stablecoins held in custody could also be converted into USD1 through the bank.
The OCC said stablecoin issuance is permissible for a national trust bank and cited the GENIUS Act as confirming that authority.
However, World Liberty Trust will have to adapt its operations to final GENIUS Act regulations as those rules take effect.
The OCC decision draws a clear boundary around World Liberty Financial’s separate WLFI token.
The proposed bank will not issue, custody or deal in WLFI.
That distinction emerged after commenters raised questions about foreign investment, constitutional concerns and potential conflicts involving World Liberty Financial.
The OCC said issues concerning purchases of WLFI were outside the scope of the charter review because World Liberty Financial itself and its foreign investors were not applicants for the bank charter.
The bank and World Liberty Financial share indirect common owners, but they are legally distinct entities.
The separation means the federal trust charter would primarily support USD1 and digital-asset custody rather than bring the broader World Liberty crypto operation inside the bank.
World Liberty Trust would also differ from an ordinary commercial bank.
It has committed not to become a bank as defined under the Bank Holding Company Act.
It does not plan to become an FDIC-insured depository institution and currently does not intend to seek a Federal Reserve master account.
That means the charter should not be interpreted as approval for World Liberty to operate a conventional retail bank taking insured deposits.
Its business would instead center on trust activities, stablecoin operations and institutional digital-asset services.
The OCC also said the Community Reinvestment Act would not apply because the proposed institution would not hold FDIC-insured deposits.
The preliminary approval carries detailed financial and supervisory requirements.
World Liberty Trust must maintain at least $20 million in Tier 1 capital.
At least half of that capital, or $10 million if greater, must be maintained in eligible liquid assets.
The bank must separately maintain liquid assets sufficient to cover 180 days of operating expenses during its first three years.
Material changes to its business model will require advance notice to the OCC and a written determination of no objection.
The company must also establish Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and sanctions-compliance systems before opening.
Its technology architecture and information-security program will undergo OCC review.
The regulator must conduct a pre-opening examination before final approval.
The application has attracted scrutiny because of President Donald Trump’s financial ties to World Liberty Financial and his administration’s role in shaping US crypto policy.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, urged Comptroller Jonathan Gould earlier this year to halt the charter review until Trump divested from the business.
Warren argued that the arrangement created a conflict because an agency within the administration would supervise a business financially connected to the president.
The OCC nevertheless proceeded with its standard charter review.
Its decision says career officials evaluated the application using established policies and procedures.
The agency also received passivity commitments from certain investors limiting their ability to influence the proposed bank.
One of those commitments attached to the OCC decision bears the name of Eric Trump as president of DT Marks SC LLC.
Catenaa View
The most important consequence of the approval may be the proposed transfer of USD1’s financial infrastructure inside the World Liberty ecosystem.
Today, BitGo performs the central issuance and custody function.
Under the proposed structure, World Liberty Trust could become the issuer, reserve manager and institutional custodian itself.
That gives World Liberty greater control over the operational chain behind its stablecoin while placing those activities directly under OCC supervision.
At the same time, regulators appear to have drawn a deliberate boundary around WLFI.
The trust bank can become the regulated home of USD1 without becoming the banking arm for every World Liberty product.
That separation could become an important model as crypto groups seek national trust charters following passage of the GENIUS Act.
A federal charter can bring stablecoin issuance and custody closer to traditional banking supervision without automatically converting an entire crypto business into a bank.
What Comes Next
World Liberty Trust cannot begin banking operations yet.
It must complete its organizational process, raise capital as proposed, build its compliance and technology systems and pass the OCC’s pre-opening examination.
The bank must notify the regulator at least 60 days before its planned opening.
Its preliminary approval expires if required capital is not raised within 12 months or the institution fails to open within 18 months, barring exceptional circumstances.
If final approval is granted, the result would give World Liberty something increasingly sought across the crypto industry: a federally supervised institution capable of issuing a dollar stablecoin and holding digital assets for institutional customers.
World Liberty Financial launched USD1 as a US dollar-backed stablecoin and has expanded it into a major part of its digital-asset business. In January, an affiliated entity applied to the OCC to establish World Liberty Trust Company as a national trust bank. The application proposed stablecoin issuance and redemption, digital-asset custody and conversion services. The OCC has also approved or conditionally approved trust-bank applications involving several other crypto companies, reflecting increasing use of the federal charter system as stablecoin and custody businesses move toward regulated banking structures.
