Trump-linked World Liberty Financial gets preliminary OCC approval for national trust bank

World Liberty Financial has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust Company, a national trust bank focused on stablecoin operations. The proposed bank will handle the issuance and redemption of USD1, manage the reserves backing the stablecoin and provide digital asset custody services to institutional customers. USD1 has grown to more than $4 billion in circulation, according to World Liberty Financial. The OCC approval is an initial step in the chartering process and does not yet authorize World Liberty Trust Company to begin operations. The company must satisfy the conditions outlined by the regulator before the bank can open. Once operational, the trust bank will bring USD1 issuance, custody and reserve management under federal supervision and regular OCC examination. World Liberty said customer assets will be segregated and the bank will operate with independent reserve management as well as anti money laundering and sanctions screening controls. USD1 reserves consist of US dollars held at financial institutions, US government money market funds and cash equivalents. The stablecoin is currentl...