World Liberty Financial Submits Application for OCC Trust Bank License

World Liberty Financial Seeks Federal Trust Bank Status

World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency initiative associated with the Trump family, has submitted an application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank.

The company aims to bring its USD1 stablecoin under direct federal oversight, seeking a regulatory classification that has so far included only one other crypto-focused institution.

If the OCC approves the application, the new entity—World Liberty Trust Company—would be authorized to manage the issuance and redemption of USD1, facilitate conversions from other leading stablecoins to USD1, provide custody services for both fiat currency and major stablecoins, and oversee the reserves supporting USD1. Mack McCain, World Liberty Financial’s general counsel and the proposed trust officer for the new company, shared these details with Decrypt.

Stablecoins are digital assets designed to mirror the value of a reference asset, most often the U.S. dollar, but sometimes other currencies or commodities, to support stable-value transactions and settlements in the digital realm.

“Our goal is to operate with strong regulatory oversight and full transparency,” McCain emphasized.

National trust bank charters remain uncommon, especially among crypto businesses.

To date, Anchorage Digital is the only digital asset firm to have received such a charter, according to the OCC, which supervises around 60 national trust banks. Anchorage was granted conditional approval in 2021.

This high standard signals that the OCC has so far treated crypto-native trust banks as rare exceptions.

Unlike recent moves by fintech companies like PayPal to create state-chartered deposit-taking banks, World Liberty’s application seeks a trust charter focused on custody and settlement, without engaging in lending or offering insured deposits.

A Step Forward for Stablecoins

Chris Loeffler, CEO of Caliber, a Nasdaq-listed digital asset management platform, described World Liberty’s pursuit of a federal charter as a “structural upgrade” that could shift its stablecoin from a trading tool to a settlement mechanism, as he told Decrypt.

“As digital currencies become more widely used for transactions, there’s a need for settlements that avoid the risk of value fluctuations. This charter would provide a federally regulated framework to enable that,” Loeffler explained.

He noted that stablecoin issuers like World Liberty typically operate under state licenses, which can create regulatory challenges across state lines and often require partnerships with established financial institutions. These arrangements, he said, “reduce issuer profitability and introduce counterparty risk.”

Challenges and Regulatory Signals

Loeffler added, “Neither of these options is ideal for a stablecoin issuer aiming to become a foundational part of the infrastructure that enables traditional finance to interact with decentralized finance.”

He also suggested that this move could indicate the future direction of stablecoin regulation, noting, “It will remain a niche path as long as the federal government limits the number of such charters.”

World Liberty Financial operates as a decentralized finance (DeFi) project on public blockchains, offering token-based financial products centered around its USD1 stablecoin, which launched in March of the previous year alongside its governance token, WLFI.

Despite its progress, the project has faced scrutiny regarding its ownership and financial transparency.

Documents related to the token sale revealed that a Trump-affiliated entity was initially entitled to a significant portion of the proceeds, but later reduced its stake as a Senate investigation examined Trump’s connections to the crypto sector.

Lawmakers have also raised questions about USD1’s role in politically sensitive transactions and its expansion on major exchanges—allegations that the companies involved have denied.