OCC Conditionally Approves World Liberty Trust Charter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued conditional approval for World Liberty Financial’s application to operate as World Liberty Trust Company, National Association. The Friday notice allows the firm to continue work on plans to issue a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin and to custody digital assets tied to its USD1 token, subject to regulatory and policy requirements.

World Liberty’s application described a trust bank that would custody digital assets and issue a dollar-backed stablecoin under federal supervision. The conditional charter permits use of the national title while the company and the OCC complete steps required before full operations begin.

In its notice, the agency wrote that “the Comptroller and staff acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations with respect to the Application.” Jonathan Gould, the OCC’s comptroller who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2025, earlier pledged the review would be handled in an “apolitical and nonpartisan process.”

The approval prompted immediate scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about ties between World Liberty and the president. Company filings and its website indicate an entity tied to the Trump family controls roughly 38% of equity interests. President Trump and his three sons are affiliated with the business.

Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act after the OCC notice, describing the bill as an effort “to stop this kind of unprecedented corruption” and calling the OCC decision “the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen.” Nine other senators joined her in unveiling the measure.

Members of Congress have also raised questions about foreign financial links to World Liberty. In January 2025, an Abu Dhabi investment firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan reportedly bought a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million. A separate United Arab Emirates entity identified as MGX used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin in a $2 billion transaction involving the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. President Trump later issued a presidential pardon for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. A White House spokesperson has maintained there are “no conflicts of interest” associated with the president’s investments.

The conditional approval follows other OCC actions under Gould to expand federally chartered options for crypto firms. In December, the regulator approved or conditionally approved trust-charter applications from Circle, Ripple Labs, Crypto.com and Coinbase after Congress passed stablecoin legislation. Those charters allow firms to offer custody services and, in some cases, issue stablecoins under federal oversight.

The OCC’s public notice did not list the detailed conditions attached to the World Liberty charter. Trust charters typically require firms to meet capital, compliance, governance and anti-money-laundering standards before they begin full operations. Legal and regulatory analysts have noted that trust banks that issue stablecoins must align reserve management, reporting and other operational controls with bank supervision norms.

Lawmakers pressing for additional oversight said they will pursue legislation and hearings to examine rules governing presidential family investments and foreign ownership stakes in firms seeking federal charters.