World Liberty Financial nears federal trust charter approval for U.S. stablecoin operations

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World Liberty Financial trust charter

Highlights

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expected to soon decide on World Liberty Financial's national trust bank charter, with approval considered highly likely.
A federal trust charter would allow World Liberty to issue and redeem its USD1 stablecoin, manage reserves, and streamline digital asset services under centralized regulation, bypassing state-level oversight.
Political scrutiny has intensified due to President Donald Trump's significant ownership stake and over $2.3 billion in family profits from World Liberty and related crypto ventures, prompting Congressional investigations into conflict of interest and national security risks.

Charter decision could expand stablecoin services

As first reported by The Block, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expected to announce shortly whether World Liberty Financial can operate as a national trust bank, with former agency staffers telling the outlet that approval is highly likely.

World Liberty set up a U.S. trust company in January and filed its application with the OCC after the regulator conditionally approved several crypto companies, including Circle, Ripple and BitGo. If granted, the federal trust charter would let the company issue and redeem its USD1 stablecoin, manage reserves, provide digital asset custody, and offer conversion and settlement services under a single federal regulator.

Such a structure would override many state-level requirements, potentially improving the firm's standing with U.S. institutions and making payments and settlement on its platform more efficient. It would also allow direct issuance of the stablecoin rather than relying on third-party intermediaries, a role currently handled by BitGo.

Political scrutiny grows around Trump ties

Any OCC approval is also likely to deepen political criticism tied to President Donald Trump's financial links to the company. Trump and his family hold significant interests in World Liberty, which they co-founded a few months before the 2024 presidential election, and company disclosures show that 75% of proceeds from sales of the WLFI token go to Trump-controlled entity DT Marks DEFI LLC.

Reuters estimated in a June 9 report that the Trump family has made more than $2.3 billion in profits across four crypto ventures since the start of Trump's second term, with World Liberty contributing the largest share. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives opened a probe into possible conflicts of interest and national security risks tied to World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin, after a reported $500 million UAE investment in the firm and a related $2 billion Binance deal that coincided with U.S. approvals for AI chip exports.

At a February Senate Banking Committee hearing, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed OCC official Jonathan Gould on whether he would reject or delay the application because of the alleged conflicts and security concerns. Gould said the agency would process the filing in line with its statutory obligations and added that the only political pressure he had felt came from Warren, while the White House says Trump's assets are held in a trust managed by his children and that no conflict exists.

Our earlier analysis of Circle’s USDC partnerships highlighted the company’s push to expand stablecoin usage in digital payments, even as investor sentiment stayed cautious. We also noted that despite the fundamental expansion narrative, CRCL remained under sustained selling pressure and was expected to stabilize in a defined near-term trading range unless key resistance levels were reclaimed.

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