World Liberty (linked to Trump) seeks OCC trust-bank charter to issue and custody stablecoin USD1

World Liberty Financial, a firm linked to members of the Trump family, has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter a national trust bank — World Liberty Trust Company — dedicated to issuing, redeeming and custodizing the USD1 stablecoin. The proposed trust would operate under OCC trust-bank rules (asset segregation, independent reserve oversight, regular examinations) and comply with AML and sanctions screening. Minting and redemption are expected to be fee-free at launch. USD1 has grown rapidly to roughly $3.3 billion circulation within its first year and is fully backed by US dollars and short-term US Treasuries held at regulated institutions. USD1 is multi-chain (Ethereum, Solana, BNB Smart Chain, TRON, Aptos, AB Core) and is listed on major exchanges including Binance and Coinbase. The filing states the trust will initially target institutional clients needing regulated stablecoin issuance, custody and treasury services; the OCC will review capital adequacy, compliance and risk management. The application follows a wider industry trend of crypto firms seeking federal banking-style charters after recent OCC conditional approvals for firms such as Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, Paxos and Ripple. Approval would let World Liberty mint, custody and redeem USD1 directly rather than relying on third-party custodians, potentially lowering operational friction for institutional flows. The filing also raises potential scrutiny over conflicts of interest because of the Trump family ties; World Liberty says family members won’t run day-to-day operations and has used a trust structure to mitigate conflicts. For traders: the move signals ongoing regulatory institutionalization of stablecoins and could increase institutional utility and on-chain liquidity for USD1 if approved, though regulatory review and political scrutiny may create execution risk.