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World Liberty Financial, the Trump-family crypto venture, is on the verge of receiving a national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to a Tuesday NOTUS report citing two anonymous former OCC staffers — one of whom said rejecting the application was "inconceivable." The decision is set to be announced shortly by Comptroller Jonathan Gould, a former Bitfury executive installed by the Trump administration.
The federal trust bank designation would let World Liberty issue and redeem its USD1 stablecoin, manage reserves, offer digital asset custody, and run conversion and settlement services under a single federal regulator, preempting much of the state-level patchwork that has shaped stablecoin oversight to date. BitGo currently serves as the project's intermediary for USD1 issuance — a function WLFI would now absorb in-house.
Why it matters
The charter lands WLFI in the same regulatory tier as Circle, Ripple, and BitGo, all of which received conditional OCC trust approvals earlier in this cycle. For a stablecoin issuer, that is a structural unlock: federal preemption collapses multi-state licensing overhead, the reserves business gets a single supervisory lens, and direct issuance removes a counterparty from the mint-and-redeem loop.
It also lands under a political cloud. Disclosures show 75% of WLFI's native token-sale proceeds flow to DT Marks DEFI LLC, a Trump-controlled entity, and a Reuters investigation on June 9 estimated the Trump family has booked more than $2.3 billion in profits across four crypto ventures since the start of the second term — with World Liberty the single largest contributor.
Market impact
The House has already opened a probe into WLFI over a reported $500 million UAE investment and a linked $2 billion Binance deal that coincided with U.S. AI chip export approvals. At a February Senate Banking hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren told Gould that approving the application would move him "from being a cheerleader for President Trump to an accomplice in his corruption." Gould replied that the only political pressure he had felt came from Warren herself.
Frequently asked questions
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What would the OCC trust charter let World Liberty Financial do?
It would let WLFI issue and redeem its USD1 stablecoin, manage reserves, provide digital asset custody, and run conversion and settlement services under a single federal regulator, preempting much of the state-level oversight that currently applies. It would also let WLFI issue directly instead of routing through…
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How close is the approval and who is deciding?
A Tuesday NOTUS report citing two anonymous former OCC staffers said approval is imminent, with one source calling rejection "inconceivable." The decision sits with Comptroller Jonathan Gould, a former Bitfury executive installed by the Trump administration.
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What conflicts of interest have lawmakers raised?
Disclosures show 75% of WLFI's native token-sale proceeds flow to a Trump-controlled entity, DT Marks DEFI LLC. Reuters estimated on June 9 that the Trump family has booked more than $2.3 billion in crypto profits across four ventures since the start of the second term, with World Liberty the largest contributor. The…
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How does this compare to other crypto firms that already have OCC trust status?
WLFI would join Circle, Ripple, and BitGo, all of which received conditional OCC trust approvals earlier in the cycle. The charter gives the same federal preemption and single-supervisor model those issuers already operate under.
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How did the political fight with Senator Warren play out?
At a February Senate Banking hearing, Warren pressed Gould to deny or delay the application over conflict-of-interest and national-security concerns. Gould replied that the only political pressure he had felt came from Warren herself, and that he would process the application as he processes all applications. The…
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