Core Summary
- On August 14, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a preliminary conditional approval letter allowing World Liberty Trust Company, NA, established by World Liberty Financial, to operate as a national trust bank.
- This license does not accept public deposits or issue loans; it is positioned as a trustee and trust business, with its core services being the issuance, redemption, reserve management, and institutional digital asset custody of the USD1 stablecoin.
- Before obtaining final approval, pre-opening conditions must still be met, including maintaining at least $2,000 million in capital, appointing a qualified internal audit officer, and reporting significant changes to business plans to the OCC at any time.
- USD1 currently has a market capitalization of approximately $40 billion (the fourth largest stablecoin), and its issuance and custody are currently handled exclusively by BitGo; once the trust bank is established, the relevant functions will be transferred back to World Liberty itself.
- The application raised concerns about a conflict of interest and national security issues raised by Democratic lawmakers due to the Trump family's shareholding. In its approval letter, the OCC stated that the professional review team had completed its assessment in accordance with legal procedures and rejected the relevant objections.
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Event Overview: OCC issues preliminary conditional approval
On Friday, August 14, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a preliminary conditional approval on its website for World Liberty Financial's license application submitted in January of this year, proposing the establishment of World Liberty Trust Company, National Association as a national trust bank. This decision brings this stablecoin project, deeply connected to the Trump family, one step closer to formally obtaining a license to operate. However, the OCC still retains the right to revoke the license until the pre-opening requirements are met and final approval is obtained.
License positioning and business scope
According to the OCC approval letter, World Liberty Trust will operate as a national trust bank, conducting trustee and trust-related business. It is important to clarify that this license does not accept public deposits, does not issue loans , is not a traditional commercial bank, and has no intention of becoming a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured, nor is it seeking access to the Federal Reserve's master account.
Its core business revolves around the USD1 stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial: It plans to issue USD1 (a fiat-backed stablecoin) to institutional clients nationwide, handling redemptions and reserve management, and providing digital asset custody as a trustee. Currently, the exclusive issuance and custody of USD1 are handled by its partner, BitGo Bank & Trust, NA; once the trust bank is established, World Liberty plans to take over these functions itself.
The market position of USD1
USD1 currently has a market capitalization of approximately $40 billion, ranking as the world's fourth largest stablecoin, after Tether (USDT) and USDC. While its size is far smaller than the top players, it possesses a unique narrative advantage in institutional compliance custody scenarios due to the political and brand connections of the Trump family.
Preconditions for final approval
"Conditional" means there are still compliance hurdles before officially opening. The OCC lists several preopening requirements in its approval letter, among which the publicly disclosed ones include:
- Capital maintenanceMaintain at least $2,000 million in capital.
- Internal audit configurationHire qualified employees to serve as internal audit managers.
- Reporting of major changesAny significant changes to business plans must be notified to the OCC in advance.
In addition, regarding the issue of shareholding by some foreign investors, the OCC stated that the relevant investors were not identified as major shareholders of the bank and that it had received multiple "passivity agreements" signed by the investors, promising not to seek control or influence over the bank's operations and decisions. Among the signatories was Eric Trump, who signed in his capacity as president of an investment vehicle associated with the Trump family.
Impact on USD1 stablecoins and the competitive landscape
For World Liberty, operating its own trust bank means that the issuance, reserve management, and custody of USD1 will be uniformly placed under OCC regulation, using the same set of standards scrutinized by generations of banks. This helps it strengthen its compliance endorsement to institutional clients (market makers, exchanges, and investment institutions) and reduce its dependence on BitGo as a single partner.
From an industry perspective, the OCC, under Jonathan Gould's leadership, has adopted a friendly attitude towards crypto companies, issuing preliminary approvals similar to trust bank licenses to several institutions, including Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and Circle, over the past year. The appeal of a national trust bank license lies in the fact that companies can hold client assets and provide settlement and asset services nationwide with a single federal license, thus more easily attracting large institutional clients. With the implementation of the GENIUS Act's federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, whoever secures bank-grade custody status first will gain a significant advantage in securing institutional access.
Background of Controversy and Regulatory Review
The application has been accompanied by conflicts of interest and national security concerns since its submission. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to OCC Commissioner Gould in January, requesting a halt to the review until Trump's divestiture of interests was suspended and the conflicts of interest eliminated. In February, two Democratic senators also requested the Treasury Department to review the potential national security risks arising from a $500 million investment related to the UAE National Security Advisor. Financial disclosures released in June revealed that Trump himself received millions of dollars in related income from World Liberty Financial.
In its approval letter, the OCC addressed each of the comments, stating that its professional review team had conducted a consistent assessment of the application in accordance with legal, regulatory, and policy requirements, and rejected the objections as grounds for rejection. It should be noted that the OCC, under the Treasury Department and unlike most financial regulatory bodies, does not have a bipartisan committee structure; its decisions are led by the Director General.
FAQ
Q1: Is World Liberty Trust Bank ready to open for business now?
Not yet. The approval on August 14th was only a "preliminary conditional approval." Before officially opening, the company must meet prerequisite requirements such as capital requirements and the appointment of an internal audit manager, and obtain final approval from the OCC. During this period, the OCC reserves the right to revoke the license.
Q2: Does this license mean that the Trump family has opened a regular commercial bank?
Not the same. The National Trust Bank is positioned as a trustee and trust business, does not accept deposits, does not issue loans, and does not connect to the Federal Reserve's master account or obtain FDIC deposit insurance. Its functions focus on the issuance, reserve, and custody of the USD1 stablecoin.
来源:
- The Block — OCC grants conditional approval for Trump-backed World Liberty National Trust bank (2026-08-14)
- CoinDesk — Trump-backed World Liberty wins conditional bank charter from federal regulator (2026-08-14)
- Fox Business — Trump-linked World Liberty crypto venture gets preliminary approval from currency comptroller (2026-08-14)
- OCC Official Approval Letter CD 1385 (2026-08-14)