WLTC Holdings LLC, an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, filed a de novo application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter a national trust bank that would issue and custody the USD1 stablecoin. If granted, WLFI would operate under federal prudential supervision, positioning USD1 alongside a cohort of bank‑chartered stablecoin frameworks rather than state‑trust or nonbank models.

The move comes as the OCC in December 2025 conditionally approved five national trust bank charters tied to digital asset activities, including de novo approvals associated with Circle and Ripple and conversions for BitGo, Fidelity, and Paxos, signaling a clearer regulatory path for institution‑grade stablecoin infrastructure. A national trust bank charter imposes fiduciary operations, rigorous compliance, capital, and reserve‑segregation standards requirements that may increase institutional comfort and distribution potential for USD‑pegged tokens.

For WLFI, federal oversight would differentiate USD1 in enterprise and financial‑institution channels where counterparty and custody rules drive vendor selection, while elevating competitive pressure on non‑bank issuers. Key gating factors remain: meeting pre‑opening conditions, demonstrating robust risk management, and aligning issuance/custody mechanics with OCC expectations on fiduciary scope and reserve handling.

Applications like WLFI’s indicate a consolidation toward bank‑supervised issuance as U.S. regulators formalize guardrails, likely accelerating institutional adoption and reshaping competitive dynamics among dollar‑stablecoin providers.