The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approval for World Liberty Financial’s application to establish a national trust bank, despite renewed political scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest. In a notice released Friday, the OCC said the approval would be subject to regulatory and policy requirements and would allow the company to operate as “World Liberty Trust Company, National Association.”

World Liberty’s charter application, according to the OCC, proposes activities including issuing U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins and providing custody services for digital assets tied to the firm’s USD1 token.

Key takeaways

The OCC’s approval is conditional, meaning World Liberty must meet specific regulatory and policy requirements before fully moving forward.
The bank would be authorized to issue U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins and custody digital assets related to the USD1 token, per the application described by the OCC.
Criticism from lawmakers continues to center on alleged conflicts of interest involving World Liberty’s ties to President Donald Trump’s family and the OCC’s leadership.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said she introduced new legislation after the OCC action, framing it as addressing “presidential corruption” concerns in banking.
Meanwhile, the OCC has recently moved quickly on other crypto-related trust charter approvals under the Trump administration.

What the OCC approved—and the business scope

In its Friday notice, the OCC indicated that it acted in line with its statutory duties and ethical obligations regarding the application. The regulator said the conditional approval for World Liberty’s charter would permit the entity to function under the specified national trust bank title: World Liberty Trust Company, National Association.

As described in the notice, World Liberty’s plan includes issuing stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars and custodying digital assets associated with its USD1 token. The OCC characterized the decision as a pathway to operate as a trust bank while still requiring compliance with additional regulatory and policy terms.

The OCC’s notice also reflects the regulator’s process and oversight stance. Earlier, OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould said the application would be reviewed through what he described as an “apolitical and nonpartisan process” after receiving a letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Conflict-of-interest concerns drive the political backlash

The OCC decision landed amid heightened debate in Washington over potential entanglements between World Liberty and President Trump’s family. According to the reporting referenced in the OCC notice, the president and three of his sons are affiliated with World Liberty.

Separately, the OCC’s leadership has been at the center of attention: Gould was nominated by Trump in 2025. In addition, World Liberty’s own website reportedly stated that a Trump family entity controlled 38% of the company’s equity interests.

Senator Warren strongly criticized the OCC’s move. On Friday, she said she had introduced legislation aimed at stopping what she called “unprecedented corruption,” describing the OCC action as the “most brazen act of self-dealing” in the U.S. financial system. Warren and nine other senators introduced the “Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act” after the approval.

Legislative push follows a broader wave of OCC crypto approvals

World Liberty’s charter bid is not happening in isolation. The OCC has, under the Trump administration and Comptroller Gould, approved or conditionally approved multiple applications from crypto firms seeking trust charters to expand their U.S. services.

One recent example cited in earlier coverage is the agency’s December approvals related to Circle, Ripple Labs, Crypto.com, and Coinbase, following passage of the GENIUS stablecoin bill in Congress. Those actions form part of the backdrop for the current conditional approval—suggesting the regulator is continuing to move through crypto-focused charter applications.

That broader pace also helps explain why Warren and other lawmakers may view World Liberty’s approval as part of a larger governance concern, even as the OCC frames its conduct as consistent with legal and ethical obligations.

Congressional questions extend beyond the U.S.

In parallel with U.S. conflict-of-interest debates, lawmakers have also pushed for scrutiny of World Liberty’s ties to foreign entities and how those relationships could influence U.S. policy indirectly.

The article notes reporting that an Abu Dhabi investment company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—the UAE’s national security adviser—reportedly purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty in January 2025 for $500 million. It also references another UAE entity, MGX, which reportedly used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to invest $2 billion in crypto exchange Binance.

Additional political attention followed because Trump later issued a presidential pardon for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. A White House spokesperson, according to the reporting referenced here, has repeatedly said there were “no conflicts of interest” with Trump’s investments.

Taken together, the OCC’s conditional approval and the expanding congressional focus highlight a central tension for the crypto sector: regulators may continue to advance licensing frameworks for stablecoin and custody-related services, while lawmakers test whether governance safeguards are sufficient in cases involving closely held or politically connected interests.

For now, the OCC’s conditional approval means World Liberty can move closer to operating as a national trust bank, but the exact requirements attached to that approval—and how quickly they will be met—remain the immediate variables to watch. As Warren’s bill moves into the legislative process and scrutiny of World Liberty’s equity structure and cross-border relationships continues, the practical impact for future trust-charter applicants may depend as much on policy outcomes in Washington as on the regulator’s licensing decisions.