What Is the USD1 Stablecoin? World Liberty Financial's Dollar

USD1 is a US dollar stablecoin launched in March 2025 by World Liberty Financial, the crypto company linked to the Trump family. It is designed to trade at $1, is backed by cash, US government money market funds and other cash equivalents, and is currently issued and custodied by BitGo, which publishes monthly reserve attestations. As of 2 October 2026 about $4.4 billion of USD1 was in circulation, making it the sixth-largest dollar stablecoin, according to DefiLlama.

This guide explains who stands behind USD1, what backs it, where it trades, how it grew so fast, and the political and regulatory questions it raises, presented as facts with sources so you can judge for yourself.

What is USD1?

USD1 is a fiat-backed stablecoin: for every token in circulation, the issuer says it holds at least one dollar of reserve assets, and the token is redeemable for US dollars. In that sense it works like USDC or PYUSD rather than like a crypto-collateralized or synthetic dollar.

According to World Liberty Financial's documentation, "USD1 is 100% backed by U.S. cash, U.S. government money market funds, and other cash equivalents," and "USD1 is redeemable for USD." USD1 does not pay interest to holders.

USD1 should not be confused with WLFI, World Liberty Financial's governance token. WLFI is a volatile token; USD1 is meant to stay at $1.

Who issues USD1: World Liberty Financial and BitGo

World Liberty Financial is the brand and the company behind USD1, but it does not currently issue the token itself. The issuer is BitGo, a digital asset custody firm. Its trust company converted to a federally chartered national trust bank, BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., after OCC approval on 12 December 2025. BitGo holds the reserves and handles minting and redemption for approved institutional clients.

That arrangement is set to change. On 14 August 2026 the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank charter to World Liberty Trust Company, N.A. According to American Banker, the new trust bank is intended to take over USD1 custody and issuance from BitGo. The charter allows custody and stablecoin issuance but not deposit-taking, and the OCC set conditions that include minimum Tier 1 capital of $20 million. Conditional approval is not final approval: the trust bank can open only once it meets those pre-opening requirements.

USD1 reserves and attestations

BitGo publishes a monthly attestation report for USD1. As of 2 October 2026, its attestations page lists reports for every month from April 2025 to August 2026. The reports are prepared under AICPA attestation standards and the 2025 AICPA Criteria for Asset-Backed Fiat-Pegged Tokens. They check three things: the number of USD1 tokens outstanding, the reserve assets held, and whether reserves meet or exceed the tokens in circulation. World Liberty Financial also points to a live proof-of-reserves portal.

An attestation is a point-in-time check by an accountant, not a full audit of the issuer's finances. That is standard for the industry, but worth understanding; our proof of reserves guide explains the difference.

How big is USD1 and where does it trade?

USD1 grew quickly. Per DefiLlama's historical data, circulating supply was about $0.7 billion on 1 April 2025, $2.7 billion on 1 October 2025 and $4.4 billion on 1 April 2026. It peaked at about $5.4 billion on 11 February 2026 and was about $4.4 billion on 2 October 2026.

USD1 is issued on several blockchains. On 2 October 2026 the largest balances by DefiLlama's count were on Ethereum (about $1.6 billion) and BNB Chain (about $1.4 billion), with smaller amounts on Aptos and Tron among others. Most of its trading activity happens on centralized exchanges, Binance in particular.

One deal did a lot for USD1's early size. In March 2025, Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX announced a $2 billion investment in Binance. On 1 May 2025, Eric Trump said at a conference in Dubai that the deal would be settled in USD1, as reported by Cointelegraph.

Political context and scrutiny

USD1 attracts more political attention than any other stablecoin because of who owns the company behind it. The main facts, as reported:

Ownership. Eric Trump is president of DT Marks, the majority stakeholder in World Liberty Financial. DT Marks is 70% owned by the Donald Trump Revocable Trust and 30% by Trump family members, according to American Banker.
UAE investment. The Wall Street Journal reported in February 2026 that an entity linked to UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million in January 2025. On 14 February 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim asked the Treasury Secretary whether the deal should be reviewed by CFIUS, The Block reported. A company spokesperson said neither Trump nor Steve Witkoff was involved in the transaction.
Charter opposition. The advocacy group Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund opposed the OCC charter. Under the OCC's conditions, Eric Trump, co-founder Zachary Folkman and a UAE investor signed commitments not to seek board seats or influence the trust bank's operations, per American Banker.

None of these points changes how the token is backed. They matter because a stablecoin's long-term value depends on its issuer's regulatory standing, and political controversy can affect that standing in either direction.

USD1 and the GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act, signed on 18 July 2025, requires US payment stablecoin issuers to hold 1:1 reserves in cash, short-term Treasuries, Treasury repo and money market funds, to publish monthly reserve composition, and to run anti-money-laundering and sanctions programs. It also bans issuers from paying interest to holders. The World Liberty trust charter application is part of positioning USD1 as a federally supervised payment stablecoin under this regime. See our GENIUS Act guide for the rulemaking timeline.

For the institutions that mint and redeem USD1 directly, that means identity verification and ongoing screening, as with any regulated issuer. Issuers and exchanges typically run this through KYC, KYB and AML-screening vendors such as iDenfy. Our explainer on KYC in DeFi covers how those checks reach on-chain users.

USD1 vs USDT and USDC, and the risks

Structurally, USD1 looks most like USDC: a fiat-backed token held by a US-regulated custodian with monthly attestations. The differences are scale, liquidity and track record. USDC had about $74 billion in circulation on 2 October 2026 and USDT about $184 billion, compared with USD1's $4.4 billion. USD1 is also more concentrated: much of its liquidity sits on a small number of exchanges and two chains.

The risks to weigh are the usual ones for any fiat-backed stablecoin, plus a few specific to USD1:

Redemption access. Retail holders usually exit through exchange or DeFi markets, not by redeeming with the issuer. Thin markets can trade below $1 even when reserves are intact. Our stablecoin depegs guide explains how that happens.
Issuer transition. Moving issuance from BitGo to a new trust bank is an operational change to watch.
Concentration. A large share of supply is tied to a few venues and large holders.
Political and regulatory risk. Ongoing scrutiny could shape how regulators and counterparties treat the token.

Where JewelSwap fits: JewelSwap does not list or issue USD1. If you are looking at stablecoins for yield, our guide to earning yield on stablecoins covers the main routes and their risks, including the stablecoin pairs in JewelSwap's Sui farms.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns the USD1 stablecoin?

USD1 is World Liberty Financial's stablecoin. Eric Trump is president of DT Marks, World Liberty's majority stakeholder, which is owned by the Donald Trump Revocable Trust and Trump family members. The token is currently issued and custodied by BitGo.

Is USD1 backed 1:1?

World Liberty Financial says USD1 is 100% backed by US cash, US government money market funds and other cash equivalents. BitGo publishes monthly attestation reports that compare reserves with tokens outstanding.

How much USD1 is in circulation?

About $4.4 billion on 2 October 2026, according to DefiLlama. Supply peaked at about $5.4 billion on 11 February 2026.

Which blockchains is USD1 on?

USD1 is issued on several chains. The largest balances are on Ethereum and BNB Chain, with smaller amounts on Aptos and Tron among others.

Does USD1 pay interest?

No. USD1 itself does not pay interest, and the GENIUS Act bars payment stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield to holders.

Is USD1 regulated?

Its current issuer is BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., a national trust bank supervised by the OCC. On 14 August 2026 the OCC gave preliminary conditional approval to World Liberty Trust Company, which is intended to take over issuance once it meets pre-opening conditions.

Keep reading

This article is educational and isn't financial advice. Supply and chain figures are from DefiLlama as of 2 October 2026 and change daily. Reserve, issuer and charter details are from World Liberty Financial, BitGo and the news sources linked above, checked on 2 October 2026. Reported allegations are attributed to their sources.

Viktor Vostrikov

Co-Founder

About the author.

Co-Founder at JewelSwap & CMO at iDenfy. Viktor brings his successful track record of superb development & project management.