World Liberty Financial Receives Preliminary OCC Approval for National Trust Bank

World Liberty Financial has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the World Liberty Trust Company, a national trust bank aimed at handling operations related to its USD1 stablecoin.

The proposed bank will manage the issuance and redemption of USD1, oversee the reserves backing the stablecoin, and provide digital asset custody services to institutional clients. Currently, USD1 has surpassed $4 billion in circulation.

This OCC approval marks an initial step in the chartering process, which does not yet permit World Liberty Trust Company to commence operations. The company must meet specific conditions set by the regulator before it can officially open.

Once operational, the trust bank will bring the issuance, custody, and reserve management of USD1 under federal supervision, subject to regular OCC examinations. World Liberty has assured that customer assets will be segregated and that the bank will implement independent reserve management along with anti-money laundering and sanctions screening controls.

The reserves backing USD1 comprise US dollars held at financial institutions, US government money market funds, and cash equivalents. The stablecoin is available on major crypto exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, as well as decentralized platforms like Uniswap and PancakeSwap.

The governance of World Liberty Trust Company will be led by a five-member board, with Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, at the helm. Other board members include independent directors Jeffrey Weiner and Erin Baskett, Chief Trust Officer Mack McCain, and Chief Financial Officer Daniel Dietzel, who previously served as CFO of Hidden Road.