Money Grab/Profit from his own market-moving decisions
The Trump-appointed Comptroller grants World Liberty a conditional bank charter
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty Financial preliminary conditional approval on August 14, 2026, to run a national trust bank that issues, redeems and holds its USD1 stablecoin. The Trump family owns 38% of the company. It is the first bank charter for a company owned by a sitting president’s family.
What happened
World Liberty Financial applied in January 2026 for a national trust bank charter. Trump’s disclosure shows an entity he controls holding 38.25% of WLF Holdco, with his trust owning 70% of that entity. Abu Dhabi’s Aryam Investment 1, tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, reportedly bought 49% for $500 million days before the inauguration. Zach Witkoff founded the company with Eric, Donald Jr. and Barron Trump.
On August 14, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty Trust Company, N.A. preliminary conditional approval after a 221-day review. The OCC is led by Trump appointee Jonathan Gould. The uninsured trust bank would take over issuing, redeeming, holding and managing reserves for USD1, then above $4 billion in circulation, from BitGo. It cannot take deposits or make loans.
Conditions include $20 million in tier 1 capital, 180 days of expenses and a qualified audit manager. Senator Elizabeth Warren had told Gould approval would make him an accomplice and urged him to wait until Trump divested. Gould refused, saying career staff reviewed the application. Warren called the approval the most brazen act of self-dealing in the financial system’s history.
Who benefited
World Liberty Financial and its owners, the Trump family at 38% and Abu Dhabi’s Aryam at a reported 49%, got federal bank status for the stablecoin. Under the GENIUS Act that makes the OCC its primary regulator. No payment to the family is recorded here; the benefit is the charter and the supervision that comes with it.
Who wanted something
World Liberty Financial’s application sat before the OCC for seven months. Its Abu Dhabi investor, a vehicle of the UAE’s national security adviser, now holds a stake in a federally chartered U.S. bank. Senators Reed and Kim have demanded the company disclose its other, undisclosed beneficial owners.
Who lost out
The OCC exists to supervise banks on the public’s behalf. It now supervises a bank owned by the family of the president who appointed its head and by a foreign royal’s fund. The rules it writes for stablecoin issuers will set that bank’s profits.
Why it matters
This is the first bank charter for a company owned by a sitting president’s family. The agency that approved it sits inside his administration. It must now supervise the bank and write the stablecoin rules that govern its income. More than $4 billion in USD1 was in circulation at the time.
Sources Banking DiveReuters via The StarAmerican BankerThe BlockCrowdfund InsiderU.S. Office of Government Ethics (primary)