World Liberty Financial is on the verge of obtaining a banking trust license in the United States
The World Liberty Financial project, associated with the Trump family, is in the final stages of receiving conditional approval for a national trust bank license. This was stated by the company's co-founder, Zach Witkoff, emphasizing the strategic importance of this step for developing the project's institutional infrastructure.
According to data published on the website of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as of January 6, 2026, the application of World Liberty Trust Company, N.A. is listed as pending review. This is a key indicator that the regulator has already begun analyzing the documents and internal procedures.
What will the license provide?
In the event of a positive decision, the entity will gain the right to perform functions critical to the ecosystem. First and foremost, this involves the ability to issue and redeem the USD1 stablecoin, as well as manage its reserves. Additionally, the company will be able to provide digital asset custody services for institutional clients — a segment that is currently the main driver of market growth.
According to project representatives, the token's reserves are planned to be held exclusively in highly liquid and reliable instruments: dollar deposits in financial institutions, money market funds backed by U.S. government securities, and their equivalents. This approach minimizes the risks typical of many algorithmic stablecoins and increases trust from regulators.
My analysis: Obtaining a trust license from the OCC is not just a formality, but a powerful signal to the market. If World Liberty Financial successfully completes this process, we will witness a politically connected project gaining institutional status that will allow it to directly compete with the largest stablecoin issuers and custodians. This could fundamentally change the balance of power in the U.S. crypto industry, especially amid the current regulatory uncertainty.