The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved World Liberty Trust Company to establish a national trust bank in the US. Once the firm satisfies the remaining requirements, it will be able to issue its USD1 stablecoin directly and custody the backing assets under federal supervision — a job currently handled by BitGo.
A charter with limits
The approval doesn't make World Liberty a traditional commercial bank. The trust charter prohibits taking conventional deposits or making loans. Instead, it's a narrow-purpose institution focused on custody and digital asset services. But the OCC isn't handing over the keys yet. World Liberty must maintain at least $20 million in capital, set up adequate compliance and internal audit systems, and pass pre-opening examinations.
USD1 goes direct
USD1 has been around since March 2025 and has grown quickly. Until now, the backing assets were held with BitGo. With a federal trust charter, World Liberty can hold those assets itself and issue the stablecoin under direct regulatory oversight. That removes a layer of third-party custody and gives the OCC a direct line to the reserves.
WLFI's bump
The market took notice. WLFI, the token tied to the project, jumped from $0.055 to $0.06 after the news broke, then pulled back to $0.056. That's a net gain of 2.5%. The token's market cap sits at $1.8 billion, ranking it 42nd among cryptocurrencies.
A growing list
World Liberty isn't the first to get this treatment. The OCC has already conditionally approved Ripple National Trust Bank and Circle's First National Digital Currency Bank as newly created national trust banks. Each one is a sign that federal regulators are willing to bring digital asset firms under the banking umbrella — albeit with strings attached.
The company still needs to meet the capital and compliance requirements before it can open for business. There's no public timeline, but the charter approval is the clearest signal yet that the agency is comfortable with the firm's plan.
