Trump’s World Liberty Financial Applies for National Banking Charter in Push for USD1 Stablecoin

Crypto firm World Liberty Financial, a Trump-family venture and closely linked to US President Donald Trump, applied for a national banking charter on Wednesday, Jan. 7. The latest report shows that they have submitted the national charter application to the US Office of the Comptroller (OCC) to establish the World Liberty Trust Company (WLTC). If the OCC approves the Trust company, it would directly issue the USD1 stablecoin, a USD-pegged stablecoin linked to World Liberty Financial. The firm stated that it would also offer its own custody solutions as well as stablecoin conversion services. This will allow other stablecoin holders to easily move to USD1. Besides, customers would also be able to mint and redeem USD1 stablecoin. The trust company plans to serve institutional customers, including cryptocurrency exchanges, market makers, and investment firms, World Liberty Financial said. World Liberty Financial Sees Sharp Uptick in USD1 Stablecoin Adoption. Zach Witkoff, the co-founder of World Liberty Financial, said that the application of the national charter will help the company to evolve further. After OCC approval, he would chair the trust company WLTC. Witkoff also stated that the institutional adoption of USD1 is on the rise. In the past 6-8 months, the market cap of the USD1 stablecoin has surged from $128 million to $3.37 billion. USD1 grew faster in its first year than any other stablecoin in history. Institutions are already using USD1 for cross-border payments, settlement, and treasury operations. A national trust charter will allow us to bring issuance, custody, and conversion together as a full-stack offering under one highly regulated entity. The proposal includes that the trust bank would operate under the GENIUS Act framework and implement enhanced anti-money laundering controls along with strong sanctions screening. The filing places World Liberty Financial among a growing group of crypto firms seeking federal trust bank charters. In December, the OCC issued conditional approvals to several major digital asset companies, including Circle and Ripple. In addition to the national bank charter, World Liberty Financial is looking to expand further with more financial products, reportedly willing to launch RWA products, making a foray into the rapidly evolving tokenization industry.