Trump-linked entities and a senior UAE royal hold controlling stakes in the prospective bank behind stablecoin USD1

U.S. regulators have given World Liberty Financial a preliminary conditional green light to form a federally chartered national trust bank that would issue, redeem and custody USD1, the firm's dollar-backed stablecoin. According to ownership details reported by The Wall Street Journal, the bank's holding company, WLTC Holdings, would be owned 49% by entities tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—UAE National Security Advisor and brother of the country's president—through StringZ Holding RSC. Entities affiliated with the Trump family would hold 38%. USD1 has grown to about $4 billion in market capitalization. World Liberty says the reserves backing the token are invested in U.S. Treasury securities and other cash-equivalent assets, producing an estimated $150 million a year in interest income. Until now, those reserves have been held by BitGo, a trust company that also keeps a share of the interest. A World Liberty-owned trust bank would allow the issuer to hold the reserves directly and retain the full yield. The licensing push follows the signing of the Stablecoin "Genius Act" in July 2025, which allows approved stablecoin issuers to directly custody the reserve assets backing their tokens. The law also limits permissible backing assets for U.S.-issued dollar-pegged stablecoins, including U.S. Treasury bills with maturities of 93 days or less. The OCC said its preliminary conditional approval—granted August 14 after an application filed in January—was based on a comprehensive review of the record, including representations made by the applicant. Final approval requires the bank to meet pre-opening conditions and pass a final review. World Liberty said career OCC staff evaluated the application, and the agency said it consulted government ethics officials to ensure compliance with ethics standards. The prospective charter has drawn scrutiny because it would place a critical piece of U.S. financial infrastructure—a federally chartered trust bank—under a shareholder structure that includes a senior foreign government official and the sitting president's family. Tahnoon has been described in Western media as the "Spy Sheikh" and is widely viewed as overseeing a financial network exceeding $1.3 trillion. The ownership overlap traces back to an earlier transaction. In January 2025, four days before Trump's inauguration, Tahnoon and co-investors invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial via Aryam Investment 1 for a 49% stake, a deal not publicly disclosed at the time and later reported by The Wall Street Journal. Trump's most recent financial disclosure indicated $263 million of that funding flowed to entities associated with the Trump family, prompting criticism from Democratic lawmakers and legal experts. World Liberty's leadership says the trust bank would support wider use of USD1 and expand services such as crypto custody and related fees. CEO Zach Witkoff said the company aims to build "the most trusted and widely used digital dollar in the world." Witkoff is the son of U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The OCC has been active on crypto-related charters in recent months, granting preliminary approvals to Ripple and Circle. The current Comptroller, Jonathan Gould, was appointed by Trump last year. Other applicants have faced setbacks: in early August the OCC denied Dutch fintech Bunq's national bank charter bid, citing serious compliance concerns, and in mid-August it returned Zerohash's trust bank application for deficiencies; Zerohash later resubmitted with a narrower scope, with public comments open through September 17. Additional funding tied to World Liberty has also raised questions. The New York Times reported that businessman Guren "Bobby" Zhou invested $100 million through a new entity, Aqua 1, becoming one of the largest token buyers. The report said Zhou previously ran a hardwood flooring business in the U.K. that failed and was investigated locally for money laundering, and was linked to the collapse of a small crypto startup. Under World Liberty's policy, up to $75 million of Zhou's investment was allocated to a company controlled by the president and his three sons, also benefiting the Witkoff family. The trust bank has not yet opened. If it ultimately receives final approval, the entity—owned 49% by UAE royal-linked interests and 38% by Trump-affiliated entities—would directly hold the full reserve pool for a U.S. dollar stablecoin, invest it largely in U.S. Treasuries, and collect the interest income.