Apex Group is testing World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin for fund subscriptions and distributions. $3.5T AUM meets Trump-backed DeFi infrastructure.

Apex Group Pilots Trump's USD1 Stablecoin for $3.5T Fund Operations

Apex Group, a financial services firm managing over $3.5 trillion in assets, announced a partnership with World Liberty Financial to pilot the USD1 stablecoin as a settlement layer for traditional fund operations. The collaboration was revealed at the World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago on February 18, with speakers including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig.

The pilot will test USD1 for subscriptions, redemptions, and distributions across Apex's tokenized fund ecosystem. Apex provides administrative and operational services to hedge funds, pension funds, banks, and family offices—institutional clients that require speed, transparency, and regulatory compliance in their settlement processes.

The goal, according to the press release, is to improve settlement speed and reduce operational overhead. Traditional fund settlements rely on wire transfers, ACH, or SWIFT, all of which introduce delays, fees, and counterparty risk. Stablecoins offer near-instant finality and 24/7 availability, which could compress multi-day settlement windows into minutes.

But this isn't just about faster payments. Apex is also exploring listing WLFI's tokenized assets—including real estate and infrastructure holdings—on the London Stock Exchange Group's Digital Markets Infrastructure platform. That's subject to regulatory approval, but the intent is clear: Apex wants to bridge tokenized assets and regulated capital markets.

WLFI, meanwhile, is planning a mobile app that connects traditional bank accounts with digital asset wallets, enabling users to access tokenized holdings without navigating crypto exchanges or self-custody infrastructure. The app would function as an on-ramp, allowing institutional and retail users to move capital between fiat and tokenized assets seamlessly.

USD1 itself has grown rapidly since launching in March 2025. It currently has a market cap of roughly $3.3 billion, making it the 35th largest cryptocurrency by valuation. The stablecoin is backed by U.S. dollars held at regulated depository institutions and short-duration U.S. Treasury obligations, with BitGo handling custody. It operates across ten blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, TRON, and Aptos.

The stablecoin's growth has been driven by integrations with major exchanges like Binance, on-chain trading activity, and partnerships like the one with Pakistan's SC Financial Technologies to explore cross-border payment infrastructure. MGX, an Abu Dhabi-backed firm led by UAE National Security Advisor Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, committed $2 billion worth of USD1 for use in crypto exchange operations.

World Liberty Financial itself is a Trump family venture. A Trump business entity—DT Marks DEFI LLC—owns 60% of the company and is entitled to 75% of revenue from WLFI token sales. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are actively involved in management, with daily operations handled by co-founders Zachary Folkman, Chase Herro, and Zach Witkoff.

The WLFI governance token launched in October 2024, raising $550 million through a public token sale. The token grants holders voting rights on protocol decisions, but the project has faced criticism over token concentration. 33.5% of the total supply was allocated to team and advisors, and 80% of tokens sold to investors remain locked. That's created frustration among token holders, especially as the token price has dropped roughly 60% from its all-time high.

USD1's integration into Apex's operations is significant because of scale. Apex doesn't just service a few clients. It provides fund administration to a global client base that includes some of the largest institutional investors in the world. If the pilot succeeds and Apex decides to expand USD1 usage across its platform, the stablecoin could become embedded in fund operations worth trillions of dollars in aggregate.

The question is whether institutional clients will adopt it. Stablecoins have been used primarily in crypto-native environments—DeFi protocols, exchanges, on-chain settlements. Traditional finance has been slower to adopt them, partly due to regulatory uncertainty and partly due to operational inertia. Most institutions have existing relationships with banks, custodians, and payment processors. Switching to a stablecoin-based system requires new infrastructure, new compliance frameworks, and new risk assessments.

But the regulatory environment is shifting. The Trump administration has been openly supportive of crypto and stablecoins, with President Trump himself describing USD1 as infrastructure for the future financial services ecosystem. That political backing could accelerate adoption, especially if regulatory agencies provide clarity on how stablecoins should be treated under banking and securities law.

Apex's involvement also signals that established financial institutions are willing to experiment with blockchain-based settlement rails, even if those rails are built by politically affiliated entities. The firm managing $3.5 trillion doesn't pilot a stablecoin unless it sees a credible path to operational improvement or client demand.

WLFI has also filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust Company, a national trust bank purpose-built for stablecoin operations. If approved, the trust company would issue and custody USD1 under federal supervision, offering stablecoin issuance, custody, and conversion services. That would put USD1 on similar regulatory footing as other bank-issued stablecoins, which could make it more attractive to institutional clients.

The Apex partnership fits into a broader strategy WLFI has been executing: build institutional-grade infrastructure, secure large partnerships, and position USD1 as the stablecoin for regulated capital markets. The Pakistan deal, the MGX commitment, the trust bank application, and now the Apex pilot all point in the same direction—WLFI is trying to move USD1 out of crypto-native environments and into traditional finance.

Whether that strategy succeeds depends on execution and regulatory outcomes. But the infrastructure is being built, the partnerships are being signed, and the capital is being deployed. Apex's $3.5 trillion AUM is now testing a Trump-linked stablecoin for fund operations. That's not noise. That's signal.