The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on August 14 gave conditional approval to World Liberty Trust Co.'s application for a national trust bank charter, CNBC and American Banker reported. The trust company, sponsored by World Liberty Financial — which says it is 38 percent owned by an entity affiliated with President Donald Trump and certain family members — plans to take over issuance and custody of the USD1 stablecoin from BitGo Bank and Trust. USD1, launched last year, has reached over $4 billion in circulation.
Conditions and Criticism
The charter comes with conditions, including a minimum of $20 million in tier 1 capital with at least half held in liquid assets, and it does not extend to depository services or dealing in World Liberty tokens. Three passivity commitments were filed by Eric Trump, UAE entrepreneur Hamad Alshamsi and World Liberty co-founder Zachary Folkman. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it "the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen," saying Trump is "the first President in history to approve, operate, and supervise his own bank," and announced legislation to bar presidents and senior officials from owning banks. The OCC has received 40 bank charter applications since 2025, many tied to crypto projects, compared with a trickle under the prior administration.
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