US OCC Grants Preliminary Approval to World Liberty Trust
World Liberty Trust Co., has received preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become a national trust bank.
This move is significant in the shift towards federally chartered trust banks, as opposed to standalone crypto custodians. World Liberty Trust does not intend to become a federally insured depository institution or a bank under the Bank Holding Company Act.
By staying outside of these regulatory frameworks, the company is positioning itself as a fiduciary asset custodian with federal oversight, rather than a deposit-taking bank. This structure takes some of the most contentious parts of the US banking debate off the table.
The approval is for World Liberty Trust to become the exclusive issuer and custodian of World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin for institutional clients nationwide, taking over from BitGo. The trust also intends to provide digital asset custody services to institutions.