The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval for World Liberty Financial to establish a national trust bank. World Liberty Trust Company would take over issuance and reserve management of the USD1 stablecoin from BitGo and offer digital asset custody services as a fiduciary. Consistent with the BitGo version, the bank plans to offer fee free issuance and redemption of USD1, which could draw volume away from rivals like Circle during periods of market stress.
The 14 August decision follows a well trodden path. Numerous digital asset firms have received OCC trust charters since late 2025, including BitGo, Ripple, Paxos, and Crypto.com’s Foris DAX. But the approval letter is striking for what it reveals about the OCC’s discomfort with this particular application.
Attached to the decision are signed passivity commitments from three indirect investors in the holding company, WLTC Holdings LLC, including one signed by Eric Trump. They promise not to seek board seats, propose directors, solicit proxies, attempt to influence management decisions, or use material non public information. Any holding above 9.9% must be proxied to management.
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