President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial announced Wednesday that it's taking a big step into traditional banking territory. The decentralized finance platform filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust Company, National Association, which would operate as a federally-regulated bank focused on stablecoin operations.
What Exactly Is This Thing?
World Liberty Financial's subsidiary, WLTC Holdings LLC, wants to create a banking entity specifically designed for its dollar-pegged stablecoin, World Liberty Financial USD (USD1). The proposed trust company would cater to institutional clients like cryptocurrency exchanges, market makers, and investment firms.
Beyond just issuing and redeeming the $2.8 billion-valued USD1, the trust bank would provide digital asset custody services and enable holders of other stablecoins to convert into USD1. World Liberty Financial emphasized that the structure would comply with the GENIUS Act and anti-money laundering regulations.
Eric Trump, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, responded to the announcement with a bald eagle emoji—the national bird of the United States—suggesting patriotic pride in the initiative.
Following in Ripple's Footsteps
The move mirrors Ripple's recent progress. The crypto company received conditional OCC approval to charter Ripple National Trust Bank, though final approval remains pending. World Liberty Financial appears to be betting that the regulatory environment is warming to crypto-native banking entities.
The Trump Family's Crypto Stakes
The Trump family isn't just casually involved here. President Trump is listed as Co-Founder Emeritus, while his sons Eric, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump serve as co-founders. Entities connected to the family own nearly 22.5 billion World Liberty Financial tokens. At the current price of $0.1709 per token, that stake is worth roughly $3.84 billion.
Unsurprisingly, this level of involvement has sparked controversy. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed the Trump family's financial gains from the WLFI token, calling it "plain and simple" corruption.
TD Cowen has warned that the family's ties to the crypto industry could complicate passage of a crypto market structure bill. Democrats are pushing for provisions that would bar senior government officials and their families—including Trump—from owning or operating cryptocurrency businesses.
Price Action: At the time of writing, WLFI was trading at $0.1709, down 0.70% in the last 24 hours.