Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) plans to expand the use of its USD1 stablecoin for payments at major online businesses. At a Token2049 panel in Singapore on Wednesday, WLFI executives said the company is working with payment infrastructure provider Mesh to allow USD1 holders to spend the stablecoin across Mesh’s merchant network.
The rollout is planned for this quarter. WLFI executives also said they are in discussions with some of the largest Web2 businesses to use the same payment technology.
Just in from @token2049
USD1 🤝 @meshpay
— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) October 7, 2026
The partnership was announced by Mesh co-founder and CEO Bam Azizi during the stablecoin-focused panel. He said Mesh would work with WLFI to make USD1 usable across its network of merchants.
⚡️Super excited to announce our partnership with @ZachWitkoff, @zakfolkman, and the entire @worldlibertyfi team to bring frictionless stablecoin payments to users around the world. 🚀🚀🚀
— Bam Azizi (@bamazizimesh) October 7, 2026
Zak Folkman, co-founder of WLFI, said the company wants to take the payment system beyond its own World Liberty app. According to him, discussions are already taking place with some major online businesses about using the technology.
USD1 is designed to maintain a value of $1. It is issued by BitGo, with its reserves backed by cash, US government money market funds and other cash equivalents. The stablecoin has grown significantly in recent months. Its market capitalisation was around $4.45 billion at the time of the report.
The planned payment expansion could give USD1 a much bigger role in everyday digital payments. Instead of being used mainly for trading or moving money between crypto platforms, users could potentially use it to pay merchants online.
WLFI is a crypto venture backed by members of US President Donald Trump’s family. The company is also moving towards having a bigger role in issuing USD1 itself.
In August, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, gave conditional approval for WLFI to establish a national trust bank. The proposed bank is expected to issue dollar-backed stablecoins and provide digital-asset custody services.
WLFI CEO Zach Witkoff said the approval could allow the company to take over the responsibility for issuing USD1. At present, BitGo handles the issuance. If the planned trust bank receives the necessary approvals, WLFI could eventually take that role itself.
The banking plan has also attracted political criticism. Senator Elizabeth Warren has raised concerns about possible conflicts of interest because of the Trump family’s connection with WLFI. Warren and other senators have also introduced the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act in response.
The OCC, however, said its leadership and staff followed their legal responsibilities and ethical obligations while reviewing WLFI’s application.
At the Token2049 discussion, Witkoff defended the company’s progress and said the conditional approval had come despite criticism from politicians and the media.
For USD1, the next important step will be whether the planned merchant rollout actually happens this quarter. If WLFI can bring the stablecoin to large online businesses, it could move USD1 beyond the crypto market and closer to regular digital payments.
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