World Liberty Financial (WLF), the cryptocurrency firm linked to former President Donald Trump and his family, has applied for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The application, announced Wednesday January 7th, 2026, seeks to establish World Liberty Trust Company, National Association (WLTC) to issue and manage USD1, its dollar-backed stablecoin.

According to WLF, the national trust charter would allow the company to consolidate issuance, custody, and conversion of USD1 into a single, regulated entity. Zach Witkoff, proposed president and chairman of World Liberty Trust Company, stated that institutions are already using USD1 for cross-border payments, settlement, and treasury operations. The company intends to focus exclusively on institutional clients, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, market makers, and investment firms. WLF’s application follows the OCC's conditional approval of national trust charters for five other crypto firms late last year.

The involvement of the Trump family has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Trump's sons, Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron, co-founded World Liberty Financial, and Trump is listed as co-founder emeritus. Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, is Zach Witkoff's father. The close ties between the company and the former president have led some to question the impartiality of the OCC's review.

Todd Phillips, a professor at Georgia State University and former FDIC official, noted the conflict of interest concerns, stating that the president could exert pressure on the OCC to approve the charter. He argued that the president could potentially fire the comptroller if the application were denied due to existing issues.

An OCC spokesperson stated that applications are evaluated under the same statutory and procedural framework, and the agency conducts rigorous reviews to determine whether applicants meet the required standards. Mack McCain, World Liberty's general counsel and former Robinhood chief of staff, will oversee fiduciary duties at WLTC.

World Liberty Financial was launched in September 2024, ahead of the presidential election. Since its launch in March 2025, USD1 has reached a circulation of $3.3 billion.