Trump-Backed Crypto Venture Clears Hurdle to Regulated Banking
A Trump-backed cryptocurrency venture has made significant progress in establishing a regulated banking arm in the US. World Liberty Financial, which launched in 2024 as a family-backed crypto venture, received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national trust bank charter.
The conditional approval allows World Liberty Trust Company to directly issue its USD1 Stablecoin and hold dollar assets backing the token. This is currently handled by business partner BitGo. The development could give World Liberty greater control over key parts of its Stablecoin operations while bringing those activities under a federally regulated trust bank structure.
The approval has been described as a milestone in World Liberty's efforts to establish the bank. However, it remains preliminary and requires meeting the OCC's conditions before receiving final approval.