World Liberty Financial has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank, according to a letter posted on the CNBC website. The venture, which is tied to President Donald Trump and his family, applied for the charter in January.
World Liberty Trust Secures Preliminary OCC Approval for National Trust Bank Charter
Upon final approval, World Liberty Trust Company will operate as a federally chartered national trust bank headquartered in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida. The charter will allow the institution to issue and redeem USD1, a dollar-backed stablecoin with a market value of about $4 billion. The stablecoin’s reserves and issuance are currently managed through a third-party arrangement with BitGo. Bringing these operations in-house will allow the newly created trust bank to manage and hold assets on behalf of customers, serve institutional clients such as cryptocurrency exchanges and investment firms, and handle reserve management directly under federal supervision.
Conditions, Capital Requirements, and Operational Limits
The preliminary approval is not a final authorization to open. World Liberty Trust must clear a lengthy pre-opening checklist and meet specific regulatory conditions before it can begin operating. The agency requires the proposed institution to maintain at least $20 million in tier 1 capital, with at least half of that amount kept in eligible liquid assets. In addition, the bank must maintain sufficient liquidity to cover 180 days of operating expenses.
The national trust bank charter comes with strict structural limitations. Unlike traditional commercial banks, World Liberty Trust will not be permitted to accept federally insured consumer deposits or make conventional loans. Instead, its operations will center on fiduciary activities, digital asset custody, reserve maintenance, conversion services, and stablecoin issuance. The agency noted that Congress expressly recognized the authority of uninsured national banks to issue stablecoins under the GENIUS Act.
The OCC stated that the application was reviewed entirely by career staff at the agency. Agency officials also noted that investors in World Liberty Financial were not considered principal shareholders in the bank, and that several investors had submitted passivity agreements vowing not to control or influence the bank’s operations. Eric Trump, the president’s son, was among the signatories as president of a Trump-family affiliated investment vehicle. World Liberty Financial is 38% owned by an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain family members, according to the firm’s website.
Political Opposition and Regulatory Context
The regulatory decision drew immediate backlash from congressional Democrats who raised concerns regarding conflicts of interest. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., criticized the decision in a statement, calling it a severe conflict and stating, President Trump is now the first President in history to approve, operate, and supervise his own bank.
Warren and other lawmakers previously urged regulators to reject the application and announced plans to introduce legislation to prevent presidents and senior government officials from owning or controlling banks.
In response to criticism regarding foreign investments and potential national security implications, the OCC stated that foreign investors cited by critics would not own or control the proposed bank, and that the bank will not issue or hold World Liberty Financial’s separate WLFI cryptocurrency token. Zach Witkoff, co-founder and CEO of World Liberty Financial and chairman of the proposed trust company, welcomed the decision, stating in a release, We welcome continuous scrutiny from Federal regulators for many years to come.
The OCC’s decision reflects a broader surge in crypto-related banking applications under the Trump administration. The federal regulator has received 40 applications since 2025, marking a sharp increase compared with the term of President Joe Biden, during which no newly formed bank charters were approved in 2024.
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