Investors in World Liberty Financial, including Eric Trump, have agreed to limit their influence over the company's proposed national trust bank as the crypto firm works toward final federal approval. The commitments were disclosed alongside the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) preliminary conditional approval of World Liberty Trust Company for a national trust charter.

Key points:

• Eric Trump and other World Liberty investors agreed to limit their influence over the proposed bank.
• The OCC granted World Liberty Trust Company preliminary conditional approval for a national trust charter.
• The proposed trust bank would issue USD1, manage reserves and provide digital asset custody services.
• USD1 has grown to more than $4 billion in circulation as World Liberty expands operations.
• World Liberty must satisfy the remaining OCC conditions before the national trust bank can begin operations.

Investors Sign Passivity Commitments

Eric Trump, World Liberty Financial co-founder Zak Folkman and Emirati businessman Hamad Khalfan Ali Matar Alshamsi signed agreements known as passivity commitments through their respective companies. The documents were disclosed together with the preliminary approval of World Liberty Trust Company.

Such commitments are a long-standing tool of bank regulation: when a shareholder's stake is large enough that regulators could treat the holder as controlling the institution, a written pledge to remain passive allows the investor to keep the position without taking on the obligations that attach to control of a federally chartered bank.

Under the agreements, the investors commit to avoiding control or influence over the proposed bank's management and operations. World Liberty said the arrangements are intended to prevent certain shareholders from exercising control over the trust company while it operates under federal oversight.

When World Liberty Financial sought federal approval for a national trust bank, several of its most prominent investors agreed to a condition: They would remain largely on the sidelines.
— Bloomberg (@business) August 21, 2026

Passivity agreements are not unique to World Liberty. Large investors have previously accepted similar restrictions when holding stakes in regulated financial institutions. Vanguard Group has made commitments limiting its influence over banks held in its portfolios, while China's sovereign wealth fund entered a comparable arrangement when investing in Morgan Stanley.

The agreements have attracted added attention because World Liberty has financial ties to President Donald Trump's family and to foreign investors. The company has maintained that Trump and members of his family do not serve as officers, directors or employees of the firm.

OCC Grants Preliminary Approval for Trust Bank

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty Trust Company preliminary approval last week, although the proposed national trust bank still requires final authorization before it can begin operations.

The charter would allow the trust company to issue and redeem World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin, manage the assets backing the token and provide digital asset custody services. The company would operate as a national trust bank rather than a traditional commercial bank offering standard deposit and lending services.

USD1 currently has a market capitalization of nearly $4 billion. That footprint places USD1 among the larger stablecoins in circulation, though it still trails the market's dominant tokens, Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. Bringing issuance and reserve management under the proposed trust company would allow World Liberty to handle more of the stablecoin's operations within its own federally supervised structure.

The OCC has become more open to digital asset banking applications under Comptroller Jonathan Gould. Ripple, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets received conditional national trust bank approvals in 2025, while Coinbase received similar approval earlier this year. The shift has coincided with Congress's enactment of the first federal framework for payment stablecoins in 2025, which requires issuers to be regulated and to back their tokens with high-quality liquid reserves.

Trump Family and Foreign Ownership Draw Scrutiny

World Liberty's application continues to face political scrutiny over the Trump family's financial interests in the company. Senate Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have proposed legislation that would prevent regulators from approving bank charters involving companies owned or controlled by a sitting president or immediate family members.

The White House has rejected claims that Trump's financial interests create a conflict, while World Liberty has stressed that family members do not hold management roles. The bank application also identifies organizers and directors connected to the Witkoff family, including Zach Witkoff, Scott Alper and Robert Witkoff.

Foreign ownership has also drawn attention. Before Trump's inauguration, World Liberty agreed to sell a 49% stake for $500 million to a company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, brother of the United Arab Emirates president, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The passivity commitments address the question of investor control but do not complete the charter process. World Liberty Trust Company must still satisfy the OCC's remaining requirements before receiving final approval to operate as a national trust bank.