The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Company, a proposed national trust bank tied to the Trump family's crypto venture. StringZ Holding RSC, backed by UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, holds 49% of the bank's holding company — more than the 38% held by an entity affiliated with the Trump family. The approval comes weeks after the administration cleared unrestricted AI chip exports to the UAE, prompting senators to request a national security review.
The largest shareholder in the company behind a proposed U.S. bank is not the Trump family. It is StringZ Holding RSC, an entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor. Filings and Wall Street Journal reporting show StringZ holds 49% of WLTC Holdings LLC, while an entity affiliated with Donald Trump and family members owns 38%.
What the OCC approved
The OCC granted preliminary conditional approval on August 14, 2026 for World Liberty Trust Company to organize as a national trust bank. The bank will issue and redeem the USD1 stablecoin, hold reserve assets backing it, and provide custody to institutional clients. It will not accept deposits, issue loans, carry FDIC insurance, or deal in WLFI governance tokens. Final authorization to commence business will not be granted until World Liberty Trust meets preopening conditions including a $20 million capital floor and compliance with the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law Trump signed on July 18, 2025.
USD1 has grown to more than $4 billion in circulation, making it the fourth-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.
The money trail
Tahnoon's group committed $500 million to World Liberty Financial in January 2025, four days before Trump's inauguration, for a 49% stake in the venture. Trump's 2025 financial disclosure, released in July 2026, shows more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income, including $263 million that flowed directly to Trump family entities from that original deal.
Chip exports raise scrutiny
Tahnoon also controls G42, the Abu Dhabi AI firm that has benefited from the administration's decision to ease chip export limits. On July 14, 2026, one month before the OCC's approval, the Commerce Department upgraded the UAE to Country Group A:5, its highest export tier, clearing unrestricted sales of advanced Nvidia and AMD chips to Emirati firms.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim have requested a CFIUS national security review of the arrangement. Critics, including CNN, have called the OCC approval a "brazen act of self-dealing". World Liberty Financial spokesman David Wachsman said no one at the company works for the U.S. government and that there are no conflicts of interest.
Source: crypto.news
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