World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff defended USD1 against claims it mainly buys political influence, pointing to about $1.42 billion in 24-hour trading volume, a market value near $4.03 billion, and a turnover ratio above 35% as evidence of organic demand. He said institutions trust how the stablecoin operates and that enterprise-scale confidence warrants federal supervision after the OCC on Aug. 14 gave World Liberty Trust Co. preliminary conditional approval to issue and redeem USD1, hold reserves, and provide custody. Critics remain unconvinced: Georgetown’s James Angel argued holders mainly value White House proximity, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the OCC move the most brazen self-dealing the financial system has seen and, with Rep. Maxine Waters, pressed the SEC on Trump financial ties. DT Marks DEFI LLC, linked to the Trump family, owns about 38% of the holding company; family members hold 22.5 billion governance tokens, and Trump’s 2025 disclosure showed roughly $600 million from World Liberty token and equity sales.