The cryptocurrency company backed by President Donald Trump’s family is making a bold regulatory push. On January 7, 2026, World Liberty Financial announced that its subsidiary filed an application with the U.S. federal banking authorities, hoping to shift from a digital asset provider to a federally supervised financial institution.
The subsidiary, WLTC Holdings, submitted the application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for approval to establish World Liberty Trust Company as a national trust bank focused on stablecoin issuance and custody. Federal oversight would let the firm issue and manage USD1, its dollar-pegged stablecoin that’s grabbed attention since launching in March 2025.
Zach Witkoff, who co-founded the company and will run the proposed trust operation, says the application represents where World Liberty was headed. He pointed out that USD1 hit more than $3.3 billion in circulation during its first year. This growth is faster than what stablecoins managed at their launch.
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Building a Full-Stack Financial Operation
The charter World Liberty wants would let it handle three core jobs: issuing and redeeming its stablecoin, converting between digital and traditional currencies, and safeguarding client assets. Instead of chasing everyday users, the company is aiming at institutional clients: cryptocurrency exchanges, market makers, and investment firms.
President Trump appears on World Liberty’s website as a co-founder emeritus. His three sons, Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, hold co-founder titles. The venture got going in October 2024, months before Trump signed the GENIUS Act last July. That law created the first real federal rulebook for stablecoins in the U.S.
Joining the Digital Assets Queue
World Liberty is wading in crowded waters. Plenty of cryptocurrency firms want the same regulatory approval. Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos have received conditional approval from the OCC. Coinbase and Crypto.com have applications pending. BitGo, which handles USD1’s custody right now, says it’s excited to keep working with World Liberty as the company moves toward running things itself.
Down the road, these charters might open doors to Federal Reserve master accounts. That gives firms direct access to the central bank’s payment infrastructure. But this is something that has got traditional banks worried about what it could mean for keeping the old financial system stable.
