The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank charter to World Liberty Trust Co. on Friday. The company is a cryptocurrency firm sponsored by World Liberty Financial, which is 38 percent owned by an entity sponsored by Donald Trump Jr. and other members of the Trump family. The proposed bank would be headquartered in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida.
The OCC, an independent bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that charters and regulates national banks, stated in a letter that the charter would allow the trust company to issue and redeem its USD1 stablecoin. A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency token designed to maintain a steady value, in this case $1. Final approval depends on the company meeting all preopening requirements, and the OCC retains the authority to modify, suspend, or rescind the conditional status.
Zach Witkoff, president of World Liberty Trust Co., stated that the firm aims to build a trusted digital dollar to strengthen the U.S. dollar's role in the global economy. In response to the approval, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 10 other Senate Democrats introduced the "Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act." The legislation seeks to prohibit federal regulators from approving bank charters for institutions owned by the president, their family, or other senior government officials.
The scale of the impact involves the management of a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, though the source does not report the current number of users or the total dollar volume of tokens issued to date. If the bank receives final approval, it would establish a precedent for how federal regulators handle banking applications from firms with direct financial ties to a sitting president's immediate family. Critics such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) argue this represents a conflict of interest, while OCC Senior Deputy Comptroller Stephen Lybarger stated that career staff handled the application according to statutory duties and ethical obligations.
What happens next depends on World Liberty Trust Co. satisfying the OCC's preopening requirements. The agency has not provided a specific date for when these requirements must be met or when a final decision will be reached. Simultaneously, the "Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act" has been introduced in the Senate; however, the source does not list scheduled votes or a timeline for its consideration by the 119th Congress. Individuals holding USD1 would see the regulatory shift take effect only after the bank officially opens its doors.