World Liberty Seeks US Banking Charter to Bring USD1 Stablecoin In House

World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform linked to the Trump family, has applied for a national trust banking charter in the United States. The move is aimed at speeding up the use of its USD1 stablecoin by large financial firms and payment companies.

The company said on Jan. 7 that its subsidiary, WLTC Holdings, filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. If approved, the charter would allow World Liberty to issue, hold, and convert USD1 directly, without relying on outside firms such as BitGo.

USD1 is a US dollar backed stablecoin. According to World Liberty, it is already being used by institutions for cross border payments, trade settlement, and cash management. The company wants further control over these flows as volumes grow.

Bringing Issuance and Custody Under One Roof

World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff said the trust charter would allow the firm to run the full process of USD1 inside a single regulated entity. This includes minting new tokens, redeeming them for cash, and holding reserves and customer balances.

Under the proposed structure, users would be able to mint and redeem USD1 without fees. The trust bank would also allow direct conversion between USD1 and US dollars, as well as custody of USD1 and other stablecoins.

Right now, many stablecoin issuers rely on third party custodians and banks. World Liberty’s plan removes those middle layers. For traders and institutions, this reduces settlement risk and shortens transfer times. It also gives regulators a clearer view of reserves and flows.

The filing follows a wave of similar moves across the crypto sector. In December, the OCC issued five conditional charter approvals to Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos. The signal was clear. The regulator is open to crypto firms operating inside the federal banking system.

Political Ties Draw Attention

The application is likely to face close review due to World Liberty’s ownership. President Donald Trump is also listed as a co-founder alongside his sons Eric, Barron, and Donald Trump Jr.

Some lawmakers have generally raised concerns about conflicts of interest tied to Trump’s role and his links to the crypto industry. These concerns grew after Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao following reported discussions that involved World Liberty.

Witkoff has said the trust company was set up to avoid such issues. He also added that Trump and his family would not serve as executives or take part in daily operations.

Even with those claims, scrutiny is expected to remain high. A banking charter would place World Liberty under direct federal oversight, with strict rules on reserves, reporting, and governance. For USD1, approval would mark a major step toward wider institutional use.