World Liberty Seeks Federal Trust Charter

World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture backed by the Trump family, has applied for a US national bank trust charter in a move that would place key parts of its stablecoin business under a single federal regulator and broaden its access to the mainstream financial system.

The group said a holding company, WLTC Holdings, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank entity intended to issue and custody its USD1 stablecoin. The proposal would create a new entity, World Liberty Trust, designed to bring issuance, custody and conversion together under one regulated framework.

A charter with limits, and benefits

A national trust bank is not a full-service commercial bank. It cannot take traditional deposits or make loans. Its purpose is fiduciary and custody activity, with a focus on safeguarding client assets and operating under a defined supervisory regime.

For crypto and stablecoin firms, the attraction is clear. A national charter can reduce the need to secure multiple state-by-state licences. It can also provide a more familiar oversight model for institutions that are increasingly interested in stablecoins for payments, settlement and treasury-style uses, but want clearer governance around reserves, redemption mechanics and the segregation of customer assets.

World Liberty is presenting the charter as a way to strengthen that credibility. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder, said the structure would allow the firm to offer a “full-stack” model that integrates the core functions behind a stablecoin product in one regulated entity.

Regulation has caught up with stablecoins

The application comes as the US seeks to tighten its approach to stablecoins. The GENIUS Act, approved by Congress last July, introduced stricter expectations around reserve management and oversight for stablecoin issuers.

For the market, the significance is that stablecoins are being treated less as an experimental product and more as a form of payment infrastructure. For issuers, it raises the bar on processes, transparency and how they structure their operations. In this context, moving towards a trust-bank model is a way of signalling an intention to operate inside the regulatory perimeter rather than at its edges.

USD1 and the plumbing behind it

USD1 is a dollar-linked stablecoin intended to maintain a one-for-one value with the US dollar. World Liberty has said the token has reached a total market value of about $3.3bn, placing it among the larger stablecoins by size.

The argument for a trust charter is partly about control. Stablecoins rely on operational plumbing that is easy to overlook but critical to credibility: custody arrangements, reserve controls, redemption processes and the ability to convert between token and fiat efficiently.

World Liberty says a charter would allow it to issue and custody USD1 through World Liberty Trust, rather than rely on a more fragmented model involving multiple licences or external partners. That shift could improve integration, shorten the chain of responsibility, and make it easier to demonstrate to large counterparties where accountability sits.

The trade-off is that a federally regulated framework brings ongoing obligations, including governance expectations, internal controls, reporting and examination. For any stablecoin issuer, the pitch to regulators and customers only holds if those disciplines are built into operations from day one.

Part of a wider shift at the OCC

World Liberty’s filing follows a broader move by the OCC to engage with the digital asset sector via national trust structures. In recent weeks, the regulator has conditionally approved charter applications from several other crypto-related firms. The trend suggests a pathway is emerging for stablecoin and custody businesses to operate under a single federal supervisor, though approvals remain conditional and subject to meeting the regulator’s requirements.

This is not a shortcut. It is, at best, a structured route to legitimacy, and one that also concentrates scrutiny. Any applicant must convince the OCC that it has the governance, compliance culture and operational resilience to run a trust business tied to assets that can move globally, instantly and at scale.

Politics, optics and structure

World Liberty’s ties to the president inevitably add political sensitivity. The OCC sits within the Treasury department, and any decision involving a high-profile applicant will be examined for process, consistency and independence.

World Liberty has sought to separate the application from its broader commercial ecosystem by placing it in a new entity and by emphasising that a national trust bank is restricted in what it can do. The structure matters because it can ringfence regulated activities such as custody and issuance from other business lines.

But public scrutiny is likely to be intense whatever the structure. For the regulator, the credibility of the regime will depend on applying the same standards it would apply to any other trust bank applicant, and on being clear about conditions and safeguards.

Where Alt5 Sigma fits in

Alt5 Sigma, a separate US-listed crypto venture backed by the Trump family, is linked to this story through its commercial relationship with World Liberty. Alt5 signed an agreement to buy tokens issued by World Liberty, with Eric Trump joining as a board observer.

Alt5 has also been forced to manage governance optics. It dismissed its auditor after questions were raised about the accounting firm’s licensing status. In isolation, that sort of episode can undermine confidence. But there is a more constructive interpretation: the company acted to remove a clear potential vulnerability once it became apparent, rather than allowing a questionable arrangement to linger.

In a market that is steadily shifting towards heavier oversight, the ability to respond quickly and tighten controls is not optional. It is the price of admission, particularly for public companies and for ventures looking to position themselves as credible counterparts to institutions.

If World Liberty is pushing towards a trust-bank model for USD1, it strengthens the case that the broader network of related ventures must show the same seriousness about governance and compliance. The sector is littered with examples where weak processes, rather than technology, caused failures.

The strategic bet

World Liberty is betting that the stablecoin market is entering a more regulated, institution-focused phase, where scale is important but not decisive. The next stage is likely to reward firms that can offer robust reserve frameworks, credible custody, clear redemption mechanics and a compliance posture that reduces perceived counterparty risk.

A national trust charter would not guarantee success. It would, however, provide a cleaner operating model: one regulator, one supervised entity, and a structure designed around custody and reserves rather than rapid expansion.

For Alt5 Sigma, the opportunity is to align itself with that trajectory, positioning as a listed company tied to a stablecoin ecosystem that is leaning into regulation. The upside depends on execution: strong financial reporting, credible external assurance, and controls that match the expectations of public markets.

The immediate question is whether the OCC will grant World Liberty’s application, and under what conditions. The broader question is what this wave of trust charter filings signals about where stablecoins are heading: away from being a niche trading instrument, and towards a regulated layer of financial infrastructure that sits, increasingly, within the traditional system rather than outside it.