Zach Witkoff (right), co-founder and CEO of World Liberty Financial and chairman of Alt5 Sigma, and Eric Trump at the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York, August 13, 2025.
Adam Gray | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Federal financial regulators have conditionally approved an application to form a bank by an entity associated with World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company partially owned by President Donald Trump’s family.
On Friday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved World Liberty Trust Company’s application to become a domestic trust bank, according to a letter posted on the OCC’s website. The trust company is sponsored by World Liberty Financial, which says on its website that it is 38% owned by “entities associated with Donald J. Trump and certain members of his family.”
The bank charter will allow World Liberty to issue stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is backed by safe reserve assets such as U.S. Treasuries and convertible 1:1 into U.S. dollars. World Liberty currently relies on a third party, BitGo, for some stablecoin services. If you bring it home, you might make money.
The charter application process will not be fully completed until the company completes additional steps, including financing. The OCC under the Trump administration has emphasized its support for new bank charter applications that are partially reviewed by career staff. There have been 40 applications since 2025, a significant increase over President Joe Biden’s term, according to agency data. Many of them are related to crypto projects.
“We welcome continued oversight by federal regulators for many years to come,” World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff said in a statement. Mr. Witkoff is also the chairman of an OCC-regulated trust company.
Witkoff is the son of President Trump’s Middle East negotiator, Stephen Witkoff.
Some Democrats in Congress have refused to support the Clarity Act, a bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, saying it does not impose strict limits on the president’s ability to profit from crypto ventures. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., previously urged the OCC not to approve World Liberty’s application unless the president renounces his interest in the company.
The OCC declined to comment on the approval.
