The Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday granted preliminary approval to World Liberty Trust Company to establish a bank charter, a step that would allow the entity — affiliated with the Trump family's crypto business, World Liberty Financial — to issue and manage its own stablecoins independently.
OCC grants conditional bank charter approval to trust company linked to Trump family crypto venture
The Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday granted preliminary approval to World Liberty Trust Company to establish a bank charter, a step that would allow the entity — affiliated with the Trump family's crypto business, World Liberty Financial — to issue and manage its own stablecoins independently.
World Liberty Financial was founded in 2024 by President Trump's sons alongside the sons of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East. According to the company's website, 38% of World Liberty Financial is owned by 'an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members.'
Financial disclosures show that Trump made at least $1.4 billion on crypto ventures last year. Trump has said he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of his cryptocurrency business, though he hosted a gala last year with top investors in that business.
World Liberty's trust company must still meet several additional requirements before it can receive final approval to operate as a bank.
- The source does not state what specific requirements World Liberty Trust Company must still meet to obtain final bank charter approval.
- The source does not detail the structure or enforceability of the firewalls World Liberty says have been established.
- The source does not state the OCC's own stated rationale for granting preliminary approval.
- The source does not identify which Democratic senators joined Warren in announcing the proposed legislation.
- The White House and Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment, and their positions are not represented in the source.