The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has preliminarily approved World Liberty Financial to establish a federally chartered national trust bank for issuing and custodianship of its USD-backed stablecoin, USD1. Prince Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Emirati royal family member and UAE National Security Advisor, holds a 49% stake in the bank’s holding company through an entity, while entities affiliated with the Trump family hold 38%. USD1 currently has a market capitalization of $4 billion, with reserves invested in U.S. Treasuries and other assets, generating an estimated annual interest income of $150 million. The “Genius Act” for Stablecoins provides the legal foundation for this bank’s establishment, permitting approved stablecoin issuers to directly hold reserve assets. This approval has sparked controversy over foreign government officials holding equity in U.S. financial infrastructure.

Author and source: The Wall Street Journal / The New York Times

Earlier this month, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted World Liberty Financial a preliminary conditional approval to establish a federally chartered national trust bank to issue, redeem, and custody USD1, its dollar-stablecoin launched last year.

The Wall Street Journal revealed the ownership structure behind the bank on Thursday.

The largest shareholder is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his co-investors, who hold 49% of WLTC Holdings, the bank holding company, through an entity called StringZ Holding RSC.

Entities associated with the Trump family hold 38%.

Who is Tahnoon? He is the National Security Advisor of the United Arab Emirates and the brother of the country’s president. He oversees a financial empire exceeding $1.3 trillion, funded by both his personal wealth and state resources. In Western media reports, he is sometimes referred to as the “Spy Sheikh.”

This is not the first time he has appeared on this chain.

In January 2025, four days before Trump’s inauguration, Tahrnon and co-investors invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial through an entity called Aryam Investment 1, in exchange for a 49% stake in the company. The transaction was not disclosed at the time until it was exposed by The Wall Street Journal in January of this year.

According to the president's most recent financial disclosure, $263 million of that money went to entities associated with the Trump family.

At the time, Democratic lawmakers and legal experts offered direct criticism: it was unprecedented for a foreign government official to hold a significant ownership stake in the company of the president-elect.

Now, the same 49% appears in an institution set to receive a U.S. federal banking charter. The shareholder structure of the bank holding company is identical to that of World Liberty itself, except that Taher’s side has been replaced by a different entity holding the shares.

What business is this bank really trying to get into?

It is not a bank in the traditional sense; trust licenses generally do not permit accepting deposits or making loans. What it can do is hold assets on behalf of clients nationwide and facilitate faster payment settlements.

Specifically for World Liberty, this license allows it to directly issue USD1 and hold the underlying U.S. dollar assets that back the stablecoin. Currently, these two functions are handled by its partner, BitGo—a standalone trust company that holds USD1’s reserves and retains a portion of the interest earned.

This is the core of this transaction.

USD1 currently has a market capitalization of $4 billion. World Liberty states that the U.S. dollars backing it are invested in U.S. Treasury securities and other cash equivalents, estimated to generate $150 million in interest annually.

Previously, this interest was shared with BitGo. Now that we have our own bank, there’s no need to share it.

Moreover, the logic is self-reinforcing: the more USD1 in circulation, the larger the reserves, and the higher the interest income. Therefore, World Liberty says the trust bank’s mission is to drive the “mainstream adoption” of USD1 while offering customers new services, such as custodial fees for their cryptocurrencies.

After OCC approval, World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff said the company's ambition is to "build the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world." He is the son of U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The legal basis for this license is the president's own signature.

World Liberty began establishing its bank only after July 2025, when the president signed the Genius Act.

This law accomplished a key thing: it allows approved stablecoin companies to directly hold the reserve assets backing their tokens.

Previously, World Liberty had to rely on third parties like BitGo. Now, it can handle this itself, provided it obtains a federal license. It submitted its application in January of this year and received preliminary conditional approval on August 14.

The Genius Act also stipulates that U.S.-issued dollar-pegged stablecoins can only be backed by specific assets, including U.S. Treasury securities maturing within 93 days. Previously, Secretary Bentsen cited a projection that stablecoins could grow into a market approaching $4 trillion and wrote that “this could lower the government’s borrowing costs.”

In other words, the stablecoin sector holds clear fiscal significance for this administration, as it creates new buyers for U.S. Treasury bonds. One of the leading companies in this space is owned by the president’s family.

In recent months, the OCC has approved a series of national bank charters for cryptocurrency companies, with Ripple and Circle both receiving preliminary approvals. The current Comptroller, Jonathan Gould, was appointed by Trump last year.

But some did not receive it.

In early August, the OCC denied the national bank charter application from Dutch fintech company Bunq, citing significant regulatory and compliance concerns. In mid-August, Zerohash, which provides cryptocurrency infrastructure to Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade, had its trust bank application returned due to significant deficiencies; it subsequently resubmitted with a narrower scope of business, and the public comment period runs until September 17.

Regarding the application for World Liberty, the OCC's letter states: “This preliminary conditional approval is based on a comprehensive evaluation of all information available to the OCC, including the representations and commitments made in the application and by bank representatives.” Final approval is subject to meeting a series of “pre-opening requirements” and passing a final review.

A spokesperson for World Liberty said that OCC career civil servants reviewed the application to determine whether it met the statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements and factors for bank approval. The company did not comment on the shareholder structure behind its bank.

An OCC official said that applications for review are handled by career civil servants, and the agency "consulted with several experienced career government ethics officials" to ensure the process "complies with all government ethics standards and policies."

There is still another amount of money.

Tahnoon's $500 million was not the only controversial funds to enter the company.

Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that businessman Guren "Bobby" Zhou invested a total of $100 million through a new company called Aqua 1 into World Liberty, becoming one of its largest token buyers.

Two years ago, he was a failed hardwood flooring retailer in the UK, under investigation locally for money laundering, and oversaw the collapse of a small cryptocurrency startup.

Under World Liberty’s policy, up to $75 million of that money was allocated to a company controlled by the president and his three sons, also benefiting the Witkoff family.

On July 19, the day of the World Cup final, Zhou Guren sat in a luxury suite at the New Jersey stadium with Zach Witkoff.

The bank has not yet opened. It must first meet the conditions listed by the OCC and pass the final inspection.

What is confirmed is that if it launches, an institution owned 49% by senior officials of a foreign government and 38% by the president’s family will hold all reserves of a U.S. dollar stablecoin, invest them in U.S. Treasury securities, and collect all interest.