US Dollar (USD) on Solana

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to charter World Liberty Trust Company as a national trust bank, a structure that would allow the Trump-backed crypto firm to directly issue and custody the dollar reserves backing its USD1 stablecoin.

The approval is significant for USD1 holders and institutional users because it brings the stablecoin's full operational stack under federal banking oversight for the first time. Currently BitGo handles both issuance and asset custody for USD1. Under the proposed structure, World Liberty Trust Company would consolidate those functions internally — giving USD1 a more direct regulatory footing than most stablecoins in the market carry today.

A national trust charter differs meaningfully from a commercial bank license: it does not permit deposit-taking or lending. What it does provide is a unified federal framework for custody, asset servicing, and settlement — capabilities WLFI says are essential for serving institutional clients such as exchanges and investment firms. Approval conditions require the entity to hold at least $20 million in minimum capital, hire a qualified internal audit manager, and notify regulators before making material changes to its business plan.

USD1 has grown rapidly since launching in 2025, reaching roughly $4 billion in market capitalization and establishing itself as the fourth-largest stablecoin. The federal charter path mirrors the route Circle pursued with USDC, and its completion would strengthen USD1's credibility for on-chain dollar settlement across the chains where it is deployed, including Solana.

The OCC noted that career staff conducted the review independently, addressing concerns raised by Democratic legislators over potential conflicts of interest given the firm's ties to the current administration.

The US dollar is navigating two opposing macro forces, according to Rabobank senior FX strategist Jane Foley. On one side, disruptions to Strait of Hormuz shipping — stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and subsequent Iran tensions — have elevated the dollar's safe-haven premium, aided by America's position as a net energy exporter. Foley noted that "for as long as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is curtailed, the USD is likely to retain a safe haven premium," reversing the historically inverse relationship between oil prices and dollar strength.

On the other side, softening Fed rate expectations are weighing on the dollar. A weaker-than-expected July jobs report combined with benign CPI and PPI readings has reduced the case for further rate hikes — historically a key tailwind for the currency. Rabobank raised its EUR/USD one-month forecast from $1.14 to $1.15 and projects the pair trading in a $1.15–$1.16 range over three to six months, with Foley expecting any dollar weakness to remain "contained by safe haven demand" until the Strait of Hormuz situation resolves.