World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s crypto flagship, is taking a decisive step into the traditional financial world, filing for a national banking charter as Washington opens the door to stricter – but more legitimizing – oversight of digital assets.
Summary
- The application places World Liberty Trust among a growing group of crypto companies seeking trust bank charters.
- The goal is to issue and protect stablecoins, a move that could accelerate institutional adoption while intensifying scrutiny of political influence, conflicts of interest and systemic risk.
- Trump’s crypto ventures, which began in 2024, have reportedly increased his net worth by billions of dollars.
World Liberty Trust this week filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Monet, which regulates and supervises the nation’s banks. the Wall Street Journal.
If approved, the charter would allow the entity to issue and hold USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin launched by World Liberty Financial last year. USD1 currently has a market value of around $3.4 billion, supported in part by its use in a $2 billion investment in crypto exchange Binance by a third-party investor.
The filing follows recent approvals of trust banking charters for major crypto players including BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, Circle, Ripple and Paxos, signaling a broader regulatory shift under the Trump administration toward integrating crypto companies into the banking system. Trust banks differ from traditional banks in that they typically cannot accept deposits or make loans, although critics argue that the charters can still pose systemic risks.
World Liberty plans to offer crypto custody and stablecoin conversion services to institutional clients such as exchanges, market makers and investment firms. Executives say a charter would reduce dependence on outside suppliers and speed up product development.
The move has drawn criticism over potential conflicts of interest, given President Trump’s profitable crypto companieswhich reportedly increased his net worth by over $1 billion, and his pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
Company executives say the trust is structured to avoid conflicts, with Trump family members having only non-voting interests and no operational control.
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