World Liberty Financial Launches USD1 Stablecoin Amid U.S. Senate Regulation Debate

World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture backed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, has launched a new stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. The stablecoin, named World Liberty Financial USD (USD1), has a total supply exceeding $3.5 million. The project deployed the USD1 token's smart contract on both the BNB Chain and Ethereum in early March. Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao acknowledged the deployment, while World Liberty Financial stated that the stablecoin is not currently tradeable.

The launch of USD1 coincides with ongoing discussions in the U.S. Senate regarding the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS, Act. This bill, which aims to regulate stablecoins, moved out of the Senate Banking Committee on March 13 and is anticipated to be voted on by the full Senate soon. Bo Hines, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has expressed optimism that the GENIUS bill could be on Trump’s desk by June.

World Liberty Financial, launched in September 2024, has maintained a level of secrecy regarding its operations. The project's website reveals that Trump and some of his family members hold 60% of the company’s equity interests. As of March 14, World Liberty has conducted two public token sales, raising a combined $550 million. The launch of the stablecoin on the BNB Chain follows reports of discussions between the Trump family and Binance about a potential stake acquisition in the crypto exchange and a presidential pardon for Zhao. Zhao has denied these reports.

Prior to World Liberty’s first public token sale in October 2024, the project faced scrutiny from U.S. policymakers over potential conflicts of interest involving Trump. Following Trump's re-election, Tron Founder Justin Sun announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty, leading to his appointment as an adviser to the firm. After Trump took office and Mark Uyeda became the acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulator sought to pause its case against Sun to explore a potential resolution. Sun and his companies faced allegations from the SEC of selling unregistered securities. Other crypto executives who supported Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections have seen their SEC enforcement actions dropped under Uyeda's leadership.

The stablecoin market has seen significant growth, with the number of active stablecoin wallets increasing by more than 50% from February 2024 to February 2025. The total market capitalization of stablecoins surpassed $200 billion in January, with Tether (USDT) and USDC remaining among the most popular stablecoins.