World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has filed for a national trust bank charter. This move forces the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to decide whether to grant federal banking powers to a firm explicitly tied to the First Family.
World Liberty Bid for National Trust Charter Tests OCC Independence
8 January 2026 - 10:30 CET
By Sandmark staff
The application by WLTC Holdings LLC seeks to establish the "World Liberty Trust Company, National Association." If approved, it would allow the company to bring the issuance, custody and conversion of its USD1 stablecoin under one federally regulated roof.
The bid raises immediate conflict-of-interest questions. The OCC regulates all national banks, but its leadership is appointed by the White House. Granting a charter to a business where the Trump family holds a 38% stake and rights to 75% of net revenues would place the administration in the unprecedented position of regulating its own private currency operation.
The full-stack play
The charter would allow World Liberty to service institutional clients directly. This includes cryptocurrency exchanges, market makers and investment firms.
According to the filing, the trust company aims to manage the lifecycle of USD1. The dollar-backed stablecoin has reached a market capitalization of $3.38bn in its first year. It currently ranks as the sixth-largest stablecoin by market cap.
"A national trust charter will allow us to bring issuance, custody and conversion together as a full-stack offering under one highly regulated entity," said Zach Witkoff, the proposed President and Chairman of World Liberty Trust Company.
The move follows a precedent set in December when the OCC granted conditional approval for national trust charters to five digital asset firms. These included Fidelity Digital Assets, Circle, Ripple, Paxos and BitGo. World Liberty is now asking for the same status.
The family business
WLFI is the latest and largest piece of a sprawling crypto portfolio that the Trump family has assembled since 2022.
The family’s involvement began with the "Trump Digital Trading Cards" NFT collection. It has since expanded into industrial-scale infrastructure. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump founded the Bitcoin mining firm "American Bitcoin" in partnership with Hut 8. Additionally, Trump Media & Technology Group has adopted a corporate treasury strategy similar to Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), accumulating a Bitcoin position valued at $6.42bn in partnership with Crypto.com.
Bloomberg estimates the Trump family has generated approximately $1.3bn through World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin combined.
The USD1 stablecoin operates across ten blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana and Tron. It is fully backed by US dollars held at regulated depository institutions and short-duration US Treasury obligations.
