The "Trump Effect" in DeFi: World Liberty Financial approaches $3.500 billion with USD1 and is going for its own bank

The "Trump Effect" in DeFi: World Liberty Financial approaches $3.500 billion with USD1 and is going for its own bank

World Liberty Financial has applied to the OCC for a national bank charter to internally manage its USD1 stablecoin, which has already exceeded $3.500 billion. The firm is simultaneously expanding its offering with a new decentralized lending protocol.

The cryptocurrency platform linked to the Trump family, World Liberty Financial, has decided to formalize its operational structure by applying for a national bank charter. 

Recently, the entity submitted the necessary documentation to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency through its subsidiary WLTC Holdings, a step with which it seeks to obtain a limited-purpose national trust bank letter, which would allow it to internalize the issuance and custody of its main digital asset, the USD1 stablecoin.

This request comes at a time of tangible expansion for the project, whose stablecoin has managed to capture a significant market share in a short period. Recent data indicates that USD1 has surpassed $3.500 billion in market capitalization, a figure that places the asset in direct competition with established instruments such as PayPal's PYUSD. 

The company's current strategy appears to focus on the vertical integration of its services, moving away from dependence on external providers to manage the issuance and custody of its digital assets.

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A decisive step towards regulated digital banking

La application The application filed by World Liberty Financial with the federal regulator aims to obtain legal authorization to operate as a limited-purpose trust bank. If the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approves the application, the company would gain the authority to issue, hold, and redeem its stablecoin internally. 

Currently, the platform relies on external technology partners to perform these critical functions. However, obtaining the charter would allow the company to offer a comprehensive service under a single supervised entity, including direct conversion between US dollars and the USD1 token without minting fees for its institutional clients.

Experts emphasize that this vertical integration approach replicates previous strategies of key players in the sector, who have also sought or obtained similar approvals in the recent past. Companies such as Circle, Paxos, and Anchorage Digital have paved the way for the integration of digital assets into the traditional banking system under the supervision of the OCC. 

Furthermore, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould has noted that the entry of new participants into federal banking fosters competition and facilitates consumer access to innovative financial products. Therefore, World Liberty envisions its own banking infrastructure serving as a foundation for scaling the adoption of its currency in treasury operations and cross-border payments.

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A new DeFi protocol is launched that expands the reach of crypto lending

Simultaneously with the regulatory efforts in Washington, the company linked to the Trumps has expanded its technical offering with the activation of World Liberty MarketsThis is a new decentralized lending protocol built on Dolomite's technology to offer interoperability between various digital assets. Reports indicate that the new platform allows users to deposit collateral in Ethereum, tokenized Bitcoin, and other stablecoins to obtain liquidity, addressing the demand for financial automation on the blockchain.

The rollout of this service, which is the second main product after the launch of USD1 in March of last year, aligns with the statistical reactivation of the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. 

During the third quarter of 2025, active lending volumes in DeFi protocols reached $41.000 billion, contributing to a global crypto lending market of $74.000 billion. According to Zachary Folkman, co-founder of the project, the roadmap includes the gradual incorporation of tokenized real-world assets as collateral, aiming to capture market share through an infrastructure that functionally competes with established protocols.

The launch of World Liberty Markets, built around the USD1 token, not only expanded the company's technical offering but also boosted the performance of WLFI, its native token. At the close of the latest report, WLFI registered an 8% increase, trading around $0,187 and reaching a market capitalization of nearly $5.000 billion, solidifying its position as one of the most closely watched emerging assets in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. 

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