OCC Grants Conditional Trust Charter to Trump Family Crypto Venture, Clearing Path for USD1 Stablecoin Expansion

USD1, launched in March 2025, has grown rapidly to become the fourth-largest stablecoin by market capitalization at roughly $4 billion. The token is designed as a U.S. dollar-backed asset providing access to blockchain-based financial products, aligned with World Liberty's stated vision of democratizing finance and bypassing what the Trumps have characterized as a restrictive traditional banking system.

The financial upside for the Trump family has been substantial. Reuters estimated the family earned approximately $50 million from the USD1 stablecoin through the end of June 2026. Overall, World Liberty Financial has funneled more than $1.6 billion to the president and his family as of April, according to Reuters calculations.

The application has drawn sharp political scrutiny. Democratic lawmakers have argued that granting a charter to a company tied to the sitting president poses a major conflict of interest. During a February congressional hearing, they pressured Gould to confidentially share the company's unredacted application, noting that the public version lacked full details on capital structure and business plans.

In its approval letter, the OCC defended the review process, stating that Gould and staff "acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations with respect to the application." The agency added that career staff handled the review and that the bank would be supervised by nonpolitical examiners.

The OCC is part of the Treasury Department and, unlike many other financial regulators, does not have a bipartisan board, a structural feature that has amplified concerns among critics about the agency's independence in politically sensitive matters.

For World Liberty, the conditional approval represents a milestone in consolidating its stablecoin operations under one federally regulated structure. The company can now move toward final approval, which would allow it to bring issuance, reserves and custody in-house, reducing reliance on third-party partners and strengthening its position in the competitive stablecoin market.