World Liberty Trust Company received preliminary conditional approval from the OCC (U.S. banking regulator) on Aug. 14 to organize as a national trust bank. Investors backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan hold 49% of the proposed bank’s holding company, while a Trump-family-affiliated investment vehicle holds 38%, according to recent reporting. The UAE-linked investment came from a $500 million deal completed shortly before President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025. The company must maintain at least $20 million in capital, establish management and audit functions, and satisfy other federal supervisory requirements before opening. Final authorization could place issuance, reserve custody and administration of USD1, a stablecoin (crypto token designed to maintain stable value), within the federally supervised entity; the bank would focus on custody, settlement and asset servicing rather than retail lending. Reuters valued USD1’s market capitalization at roughly $4 billion in mid-August, making it the fourth-largest stablecoin at that time. Democratic lawmakers have raised national-security and potential conflict-of-interest concerns linked to Sheikh Tahnoon’s role and later U.S. decisions on advanced AI chip exports to the UAE. World Liberty representatives denied any policy connection, while the White House said Trump is not involved in managing his business assets. The OCC also required passivity agreements intended to prevent certain shareholders from controlling or influencing the bank, including one signed by Eric Trump for a Trump-family investment vehicle. World Liberty’s 2025 disclosure showed more than $1.4 billion in family crypto-venture income, with nearly $800 million tied to World Liberty Financial, according to Reuters.