World Liberty Financial (WLFI) CEO Zach Witkoff has publicly rejected claims that the company received preferential treatment in its pursuit of a U.S. national trust bank charter. The denial follows the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granting preliminary conditional approval to World Liberty Trust, the entity intended to issue the USD1 stablecoin.
The OCC, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, charters and supervises national banks and federal savings associations. For World Liberty Trust, final authorization remains contingent on satisfying standard regulatory requirements, including capital adequacy, risk management, and compliance systems. Witkoff argued in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that the OCC had previously granted similar conditional approvals to five other firms nine months before World Liberty's application, countering concerns raised by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren over the impartiality of the review process.
World Liberty investors including Eric Trump, co-founder Zak Folkman, and Emirati businessman Hamad Khalfan Ali Matar Alshamsi signed passivity commitments through their respective companies. These agreements are designed to prevent certain shareholders from exercising control over the proposed bank's management and operations. World Liberty said the arrangements are intended to keep investors on the sidelines while the trust company operates under federal oversight. Passivity agreements are not unique to World Liberty; large investors such as Vanguard Group and China’s sovereign wealth fund have accepted similar restrictions in regulated financial institutions.
The proposed national trust bank would issue and redeem USD1, manage the assets backing the token, and provide digital asset custody services. USD1 currently has a market capitalization of nearly $4 billion. Bringing issuance and reserve management under the proposed trust company would allow World Liberty to handle more of the stablecoin’s operations within its own federally supervised structure.
Political scrutiny continues because of the Trump family’s financial interests in World Liberty and foreign ownership concerns. Senate Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have proposed legislation that would prevent regulators from approving bank charters involving companies owned or controlled by a sitting president or immediate family members. The White House has rejected claims of conflict, and World Liberty has stressed that Trump family members do not serve as officers, directors, or employees. Before Trump’s inauguration, World Liberty agreed to sell a 49% stake for $500 million to a company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, according to the Wall Street Journal.
OCC activity in digital asset banking has increased under Comptroller Jonathan Gould. Ripple, Paxos, and Fidelity Digital Assets received conditional national trust bank approvals in 2025, and Coinbase received similar approval earlier this year. World Liberty Trust must still meet the OCC’s remaining conditions before receiving final approval to operate as a national trust bank.
