Trump family moves into banking as OCC grants charter for stablecoin trust company

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional approval on August 14 for World Liberty Trust Co., a limited-purpose national trust bank tied to World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The charter lets the entity handle issuance, custody, and redemption services for its USD1 stablecoin, a dollar-backed digital token that WLF has been building since launching in 2024. What the charter does, and what it doesn’t World Liberty Trust Co. operates under a limited-purpose charter, meaning it cannot make loans or accept federally insured deposits. Instead, the charter carves out a narrow lane: the trust company can perform activities related to its stablecoin infrastructure, essentially serving as regulated plumbing for USD1. A friendlier climate for new banks WLF filed its de novo application with the OCC in January 2026. In February, the OCC issued a final rule clarifying the scope of activities for trust banks. That rule, which took effect on April 1, confirmed that trust banks could perform both fiduciary and non-fiduciary activities, meaning a trust charter could support operational functions like stablecoin mechanics. M...