Nikolas Sargeant
World Liberty Financial has filed for a US national banking charter as stablecoins transition from specialized trading instruments into mainstream payment infrastructure, marking the latest step in the Trump administration's effort to integrate digital assets into regulated financial systems.
The organization announced Wednesday that World Liberty Trust submitted a de novo application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Treasury Department bureau that charters and supervises national banks. If approved, the charter would authorize the trust to issue and safeguard USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin World Liberty launched in 2024.
USD1 has grown to approximately $3.4 billion in market capitalization and has already appeared in significant cryptocurrency transactions. A third-party investor recently used USD1 tokens to purchase a $2 billion stake in cryptocurrency exchange Binance, demonstrating the token's utility in large-scale institutional deals.
World Liberty has relied on established cryptocurrency infrastructure to date. BitGo currently provides custody services for USD1 reserves, an arrangement positioned as a compliant structure pairing stablecoin issuance with traditional reserve management and reporting protocols.
The filing arrives during a period of substantially friendlier regulatory sentiment toward cryptocurrency under President Donald Trump, following a series of charter approvals signaling regulators' willingness to bring more crypto businesses under bank-style supervision. The OCC approved national trust bank charters in December for multiple cryptocurrency and digital asset firms, including BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Circle, Ripple, and Paxos, expanding the regulated pathway for tokenized finance.
Trust banks operate in a narrower scope than full-service banks, generally prohibited from accepting deposits or originating loans. However, the model enables stablecoin issuers to custody assets and operate conversion and settlement services without complete reliance on third-party providers, offering a middle ground between unregulated cryptocurrency operations and traditional banking.
World Liberty has positioned the trust as an institutional business targeting exchanges, market makers, and investment firms seeking custody and stablecoin conversion services with bank-level regulatory oversight. The company stated it intends to comply with the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin legislation Trump signed in July 2025 establishing a federal framework for payment stablecoins, and confirmed the trust will follow anti-money laundering and sanctions screening requirements.
The application introduces political considerations into financial infrastructure. Critics have raised conflict-of-interest concerns regarding a Trump-linked stablecoin scaling within regulated finance, while World Liberty argues it structured the trust to mitigate those risks. The company stated the Trump family holds a non-voting interest and will not manage day-to-day operations.
The December OCC charter approvals for cryptocurrency firms represented a significant shift in regulatory approach, creating supervised pathways for digital asset custody and settlement without requiring full banking powers. The trust bank model allows cryptocurrency companies to operate with federal supervision while maintaining focus on digital asset services rather than traditional banking products.
