Trump invites crypto and prediction market CEOs to the White House to discuss regulations

World Liberty described the OCC approval as a “milestone” in its plans to establish the bank.

Zach Witkoff, president and chairman of World Liberty Trust, said:

“A national trust bank brings USD1 issuance, custody, and reserve management together under OCC supervision, examined on the same standards that have governed banks for generations. We welcome continuous scrutiny from Federal regulators for many years to come.”

World Liberty still has to maintain at least $20 million in capital, bring in a qualified employee to manage internal auditing, and notify the OCC before making any major changes to the business plan it submitted.

Ripple and Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) have been granted provisional OCC approvals for a national trust bank charter through Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who has been appointed as the Comptroller by Trump just last year.

It also raised issues related to the investors of the crypto firm. According to the OCC, foreign investors associated with the parent company would not necessarily be considered as the owners having control over the bank.

Some of the foreign investors had entered into an agreement to remain passive and would not seek to control the decision-making process of the bank.

Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s son, was among those who signed one of the agreements. He did so while serving as president of an investment entity connected to the Trump family.

Democrats question World Liberty’s family links as Polymarket pushes back on JPMorgan claims

Zach is the son of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special diplomatic envoy. The Witkoff family helped launch World Liberty Financial with Trump and his three sons in late 2024, and Zach currently serves as the company’s CEO.

Robert Witkoff, Steve’s brother and a former insurance company executive, is expected to serve as a director of World Liberty Trust. Scott Alper, who is president of the Witkoff family’s real estate business, has also been put forward as a proposed director.

Lawmakers from the Democratic Party have stated that there would be a conflict of interest if a bank owned by the family members of the president was approved.

During a congressional hearing in February, they pressured Jonathan to provide full and unredacted copies of World Liberty’s application for lawmakers to see in private. The publicly available copy lacked certain details on the capital structure and operations of the company.

The OCC defended the way it handled the application in its approval letter. It said Jonathan and agency staff “acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations with respect to the application.” The OCC also said career employees carried out the review and that, if the bank starts operating, it would be overseen by nonpolitical examiners.