World Liberty Financial Seeks US Banking Charter to Expand USD1 Stablecoin

The Trump family-backed crypto platform World Liberty Financial has taken a major regulatory step as it seeks to expand institutional use of its USD1 stablecoin. 

On Wednesday, the company confirmed that its subsidiary, WLTC Holdings LLC, filed an application with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank.

If approved, the proposed entity, World Liberty Trust Company, would allow the firm to issue, custody, and convert USD1 directly under federal supervision. 

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This would decrease its dependency on third-party service providers like BitGo and internalize stablecoin operations. World Liberty Co-Founder Zach Witkoff said institutions are already using USD1 for cross-border payments, settlement, and treasury management. 

“A national trust charter will allow us to bring issuance, custody, and conversion together as a full-stack offering under one highly regulated entity,” he said.

What the Charter would allow

The trust bank would operate as a purpose-built institution focused on stablecoin services. According to World Liberty, the bank plans to offer fee-free minting and redemption of USD1 at launch, along with seamless conversion between US dollars and the stablecoin. 

It would also provide custody services for USD1 and other approved stablecoins. USD1 is currently backed by US dollar deposits and short-duration US Treasury instruments held at regulated institutions. 

The stablecoin is compatible with a variety of blockchains, such as Ethereum, Solana, BNB Smart Chain, TRON, and Aptos, which allows settlement in a short time and programmable payments.

The company said USD1 has grown to more than $3.3 billion in circulation within its first year, making it one of the fastest-growing dollar-backed stablecoins in the market.

Regulatory context and growing scrutiny

World Liberty’s application comes at a time when US regulators are showing greater openness toward crypto-native banking models. 

In December, the OCC granted conditional charter approvals to firms including Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos. OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould said new entrants help promote competition and innovation in the banking system.

However, World Liberty’s ties to President Donald Trump may invite closer scrutiny. Trump is listed as a co-founder alongside his sons Eric, Barron, and Donald Trump Jr. Some lawmakers have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest, especially following Trump’s recent pardon of Binance Co-Founder Changpeng Zhao.

Witkoff has indicated that the trust company structure is meant to prevent conflicts, and Trump and his family will not be in any executive position, or run the day-to-day business.

Why this matters for the crypto market

The proposed charter reflects a broader push by stablecoin issuers to gain regulatory clarity as institutional adoption grows. The USD1 would be more appealing to exchanges, asset managers, and corporate users who are looking to use a compliant digital dollar in a federally regulated trust bank.

The move also follows World Liberty’s recent plan to allocate at least 5% of its treasury to boost USD1 adoption. In recent weeks, the firm disclosed buying $10 million worth of its governance token using USD1 and expanding integrations across centralized and decentralized platforms.

As regulators weigh stablecoin legislation and oversight frameworks, the outcome of World Liberty’s application could influence how crypto firms bridge traditional finance and blockchain-based payments in the US.

Also Read: World Liberty Financial Rises Nearly 22% Over the Past Week