World Liberty Wins Bank Charter From Trump-Appointed Regulator for $4 Billion Stablecoin
President Donald Trump’s family is set to own a federally chartered bank. A regulator he appointed conditionally cleared World Liberty Trust Company, issuer of the $4 billion USD1 stablecoin.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published its national trust charter decision Friday. Final approval would let the firm issue USD1 itself and hold the dollar assets backing it.
Trump’s Own Appointee Cleared the World Liberty Bank Charter
Trump appointed Comptroller Jonathan Gould to run the OCC last year. World Liberty Trust filed its application in early January, and congressional Democrats spent the months since warning that approval would create a conflict of interest.
The agency answered that criticism inside the letter itself. Career staff handled the review, the OCC said, and Gould met his statutory duties and ethical obligations. Nonpolitical examiners will supervise the bank once it opens.
The regulator’s structure matters here. The OCC sits inside the Treasury Department and has no bipartisan board to check a single appointee. Democrats pressed Gould at a February hearing to release the unredacted filing. The public version left out capital structure and business plan specifics.
The financial stakes explain the pressure. Reuters put Trump family earnings from USD1 at roughly $50 million through June 2026. World Liberty Financial had routed more than $1.6 billion to the president and his sons as of April, a figure consistent with his 2025 crypto earnings disclosure.
Leadership keeps the venture inside Trump’s circle. Zach Witkoff, chief executive of World Liberty Financial and son of special envoy Steve Witkoff, would chair the bank. Robert Witkoff and Scott Alper, who runs the Witkoff family real estate business, are proposed directors.
What the Charter Gives the $4 Billion USD1 Stablecoin
USD1 trades near $1 with a market capitalization of about $4.02 billion, ranking 23rd across all crypto assets. Partner BitGo currently mints the token and safeguards its reserves.
The charter pulls both functions in-house. World Liberty would issue and redeem USD1, custody the dollars and Treasury money market funds behind it, and settle payments for institutional clients under one federal license.
Trust charters stop short of full banking, with no retail deposits or lending. The OCC also imposed conditions, including a $20 million capital floor, advance notice of major business plan changes, and a qualified internal audit manager.
Rivals reached this point first. Circle won final OCCbank approval in July, while Ripple and Crypto.com hold conditional trust charter approvals. Major lenders have weighed legal action over charters that grant crypto firms federal standing without full bank supervision.
Nothing changes for USD1 holders until the conditions are satisfied and final approval lands. The open question is whether Congress ever sees the parts of the application the public never got.