The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted conditional approval for a national trust bank tied to Trump family-linked World Liberty Financial. The decision lets the company organize World Liberty Trust Company but not yet operate, while ten Democratic senators have introduced a bill targeting the approval over conflict-of-interest concerns.
The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional approval on Aug. 14 for World Liberty Financial's national trust bank application. The approval lets the company organize as World Liberty Trust Company, National Association, but it cannot yet open for business.
Florida-based Bay Harbor Islands would host the bank, run as a subsidiary of Delaware-registered WLTC Holdings LLC. Before opening, World Liberty Trust must apply for stock in a Federal Reserve Bank and maintain at least $20 million in eligible capital. The OCC can still modify, suspend, or withdraw the decision if new information raises concerns.
Bank would take over USD1 from BitGo
Under its business plan, the bank would issue and redeem the dollar-backed USD1 stablecoin for institutional clients, taking over reserve management and custody duties BitGo currently holds. The charter excludes retail deposits or conventional lending, limiting the bank to trust, custody, and payment services.
Trump family ties trigger a Senate bill
President Donald Trump and his three sons are affiliated with World Liberty, and a Trump family entity controls 38% of the company's equity interests, according to the company's website. Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who leads the OCC, was nominated by Trump in 2025.
According to crypto.news, career agency employees reviewed the filing, while nonpolitical examiners would supervise the bank. However, Senator Elizabeth Warren and nine other senators responded by introducing the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act, which would bar presidents, vice presidents, and their immediate family from owning or controlling a bank. According to Cointelegraph, Warren called the OCC's move "the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen".
UAE-linked stakes remain under review
An Abu Dhabi investment company backed by the United Arab Emirates' national security adviser reportedly purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million in January 2025. Separately, another UAE entity, MGX, used $2 billion in USD1 to invest in Binance, after which Trump pardoned former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The OCC said it considered public comments about the foreign investors and found they were not principal shareholders of the proposed bank, with several signing agreements not to control or influence its operations. A White House spokesperson has repeatedly said Trump's investments carry no conflicts of interest.
Sources: Cointelegraph, crypto.news
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