Lede
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has officially declined a request from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren to suspend its review of World Liberty Financial’s application for a national trust bank charter. Senator Warren had sought to pause the evaluation of the crypto platform’s application until U.S. President Donald Trump divested his stake in the entity. In response, the OCC’s Jonathan Gould confirmed that the agency will move forward with the review process, evaluating the submission under existing regulatory standards. Gould emphasized that the OCC charter application process is intended to remain an apolitical and nonpartisan procedure, asserting that political considerations or personal financial ties will not influence the procedural review.
The regulator maintained that its duty is to act in accordance with established standards rather than responding to specific political demands. This decision ensures that the application, which was submitted early in the year, will continue through the standard rigorous review process applied to all similar banking charter requests. The OCC’s stance highlights a commitment to procedural consistency, even amidst high-profile political scrutiny regarding the ownership and founding members of the digital asset platform. By rejecting the bid to pause, the regulator signals that it will treat the crypto-focused application with the same scrutiny as any other financial institution seeking a national trust charter.
Context
World Liberty Financial formally submitted its application for a national trust bank charter on January 7, as part of a broader strategy to expand its cryptocurrency operations and internalize key financial services. A primary objective of this charter is to enable the platform to issue, custody, and convert its USD1 stablecoin in-house. Currently, the platform relies on third-party providers for these functions, and obtaining a charter would allow for more direct control over its stablecoin ecosystem. The USD1 stablecoin has already established a significant presence in the digital asset market, having reached a market capitalization of $4.2 billion following its launch in March 2025.
The asset is widely utilized for various financial activities, including cross-border payments, settlements, and corporate treasury operations. By seeking this charter, World Liberty Financial aims to integrate its operations more closely with traditional financial frameworks while scaling its existing services. The move follows a period where the platform has grown to become the sixth-largest stablecoin by market capitalization globally. The application represents a significant step for the company as it attempts to transition from a crypto-native platform to a more regulated financial entity capable of providing end-to-end stablecoin management. The expansion into in-house custody and issuance is seen as a pivotal move for the platform’s long-term operational autonomy.
Impact
Historically, cryptocurrency firms have faced substantial challenges when attempting to secure national trust banking charters from U.S. regulators. However, the regulatory environment showed signs of shifting in December, when the OCC granted conditional approvals to several prominent industry players. These approvals were awarded to Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos, marking a significant breakthrough for digital asset companies seeking to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and traditional finance (TradFi). These developments indicated a growing willingness on the part of the currency regulator to expand crypto services into the formal banking system under specific conditions.
For World Liberty Financial, the OCC’s refusal to pause its review means its application will be considered during a period of increased regulatory activity for the sector. The focus on apolitical and nonpartisan reviews suggests that the agency aims to provide a predictable pathway for firms that meet the necessary regulatory hurdles, regardless of external political pressures. The inclusion of major firms like Fidelity and Ripple in previous approval rounds suggests that the OCC is establishing a precedent for how crypto-native and crypto-adjacent businesses can operate with federal oversight. This shift has the potential to normalize the presence of digital asset custody and stablecoin issuance within the regulated banking sector, provided the applicants can satisfy the rigorous review standards mentioned by agency officials.
Outlook
Looking ahead, the evaluation of World Liberty Financial’s bank charter application will serve as a test for the OCC’s commitment to its apolitical review process. As the platform seeks to manage its $4.2 billion USD1 stablecoin internally, the outcome of this review could influence how other stablecoin issuers approach federal licensing. The regulator’s emphasis on “rigorous review” implies that while the process is not paused, World Liberty Financial must still demonstrate compliance with all existing regulatory standards applied to national trust banks. The broader trend suggests an ongoing expansion of cryptocurrency services into the traditional financial sector, as evidenced by the recent wave of conditional approvals for other industry leaders.
If successful, World Liberty Financial would join the ranks of firms like Circle and Paxos in operating with a higher degree of regulatory integration. This would likely encourage more firms to pursue similar charters to avoid reliance on third-party service providers for stablecoin issuance and custody. The market will continue to monitor the progress of these applications as they represent the evolving intersection of federal banking policy and the digital asset economy. The OCC’s handling of this specific case, particularly in the face of high-level political interest and demands for stake divestment, will likely be viewed as a benchmark for future interactions between the digital asset industry and federal regulators.
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