World Liberty Trust Receives Preliminary OCC Approval for National Trust Bank Charter

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval to World Liberty Trust Company, N.A. for a national trust bank charter, marking a significant regulatory step for World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin operations.

The application was filed with the OCC on 6 January 2026. According to the OCC’s digital-asset licensing records, World Liberty Trust sought a new national trust bank charter as part of a broader plan to bring custody, stablecoin issuance and related asset-servicing functions under a federally supervised entity.

Reuters reported that the OCC issued its conditional approval on 14 August 2026. The approval is not a final licence: World Liberty Trust must satisfy the OCC’s conditions and complete the remaining organisational and supervisory steps before it can begin operating as a national trust bank.

USD1 issuance and reserve custody would move in-house

If final approval is obtained, the trust bank would be able to issue World Liberty Financial’s USD1 dollar-backed stablecoin directly and hold the assets supporting it. Those functions are currently handled through BitGo. The charter would also permit the trust company to custody assets for customers and support payment-settlement and other trust-bank services on a nationwide basis.

The proposed institution would not operate like a full-service commercial bank. A national trust bank generally does not take retail deposits or make conventional loans, and the OCC approval does not authorise World Liberty Trust to begin those activities.

Approval carries capital and governance conditions

Reuters said the OCC’s approval requires World Liberty Trust to maintain at least US$20 million in capital, notify the regulator of material changes to its business plan and appoint a qualified internal audit manager. The OCC will also need to complete further review before the institution can open.

The application attracted comments concerning non-U.S. investors in World Liberty Financial. The OCC said several investors, including non-U.S. investors, entered into passivity agreements under which they agreed not to exercise control or influence over the bank’s operations or decisions.

At the time of the approval, Reuters reported USD1 had grown to roughly US$4 billion in market capitalisation. Bringing issuance, custody and reserve management under a federally supervised trust bank would therefore move a material stablecoin operation further inside the U.S. regulated banking perimeter.

For the digital-asset sector, the decision is another indication that national trust bank charters are becoming an important route for stablecoin and custody providers seeking a single federal supervisory framework. The key distinction remains that World Liberty Trust has received preliminary conditional approval, not final authorisation to commence banking operations.