Trump Crypto Project World Liberty Seeks Bank Charter Approval

World Liberty Financial Seeks US Bank Charter for Crypto Expansion

World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company co-founded by President Donald Trump, has submitted an application to obtain a US banking charter, according to a recent company announcement.

WLTC Holdings LLC has formally applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to create World Liberty Trust Company, National Association. This new national trust bank would focus on stablecoin-related services, as reported in New York on Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal was the first to cover this development.

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If the charter is approved, World Liberty Financial, which has primarily issued its USD1 stablecoin up to now, would be able to serve institutional clients such as cryptocurrency exchanges. The company also plans to provide digital asset custody and stablecoin conversion services, allowing users of other stablecoins to transition to USD1.

Co-founder Zach Witkoff explained to Bloomberg, “A national trust charter establishes a clear federal structure for managing custody, reserves, and fiduciary responsibilities. Over time, this could encourage greater institutional involvement, enhance consumer safeguards, and expand regulated payment and settlement options, all under regulatory supervision.”

World Liberty joins a growing list of crypto firms seeking bank charters. Last year, Coinbase Global Inc. also applied for a charter, and the OCC has conditionally approved applications from five companies, including Ripple, Paxos, and BitGo.

The company, which names President Trump as “co-founder emeritus” on its website, has raised capital by selling its WLFI token. Initially intended as a non-transferable governance token, WLFI later became tradable. According to CoinGecko, the USD1 stablecoin, which has been used by a fund to invest in Binance, currently has a market cap of $3.4 billion.

President Trump has advocated for policies favorable to cryptocurrencies and recently enacted legislation to regulate stablecoins backed by the US dollar.

Updated to include comments from Zach Witkoff.

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