OCC Approves Trump-Linked Crypto Firm for Trust Bank Charter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted a trust bank charter to World Liberty, a cryptocurrency firm linked to former President Donald Trump. This move will allow the company to issue its USD1 stablecoin despite previous opposition from lawmakers and bank trade groups.

The approval is part of a series of bank charter approvals given out by the OCC this year to fintechs and digital asset firms. World Liberty's charter allows it to establish a trust bank, which will enable the company to issue its stablecoin without being subject to strict banking regulations.

Separately, an analysis by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen) has revealed that banks rarely flag human smuggling activity, but when they do, they often involve large sums of money. The report found that banks filed only 3% of suspected human smuggling reports counted by Fincen, but accounted for 61% of monetary volume.