Trump-linked Crypto Venture Applies for Banking License

A cryptocurrency venture co-founded by Donald Trump has applied for a US banking license, joining a wave of digital asset firms seeking closer integration with the regulated financial system.

World Liberty Financial said on Wednesday that one of its entities, World Liberty Trust Company, had filed a de novo application for a national bank trust charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), an arm of the US Treasury that charters and supervises national banks.

The crypto venture counts the president as co-founder emeritus and lists eight co-founders, including Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump. If approved, the charter would allow World Liberty to offer digital asset custody and stablecoin conversion services under a single federal regulator, rather than applying for licences state by state.

World Liberty said the proposed trust bank would issue and custody USD1, its dollar-backed stablecoin launched last year, and enable holders of other stablecoins to convert them into USD1.

“A national trust charter will allow us to bring issuance, custody, and conversion together as a full-stack offering under one highly regulated entity,” said Zach Witkoff, the proposed president and chairman of World Liberty Trust Company.

The application comes amid a surge of crypto and fintech firms pursuing national trust bank charters.

World Liberty said the trust bank would be structured to comply with the recently passed GENIUS Act, which sets out stablecoin regulation.