The Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given conditional approval to a trust company linked to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency business, World Liberty Financial, to establish a bank. This approval allows the World Liberty Trust Company to issue and manage its own stablecoins independently.
World Liberty Financial was founded by President Trump’s sons in 2024, along with the sons of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East. According to their website, Donald J. Trump and some of his family members indirectly own 38% of the company.
This development has sparked criticism from Democratic figures. They argue that allowing a business affiliated with the Trump family to attain bank status could lead to a conflict of interest. Austin Campbell, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, described the situation as “pretty unprecedented,” given the need for the OCC to regulate an entity linked to the president’s family.
Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts expressed her concerns, labeling the move as “a brazen act of self-dealing.” She, along with other Democratic senators, plans to introduce legislation preventing the president, vice president, and their families from owning or controlling a bank.
In response to these concerns, World Liberty claims that firewalls are in place to ensure the Trump family has no involvement in the bank’s operations while President Trump is in office. A spokesperson for World Liberty emphasized that the trust company’s national charter promises “robust and permanent regulatory supervision” by the OCC.
Efforts to reach the White House and Trump Organization for comments were unsuccessful. Financial disclosures reveal cryptocurrency has been highly profitable for President Trump, with earnings of at least $1.4 billion from crypto ventures last year. While he hosted a cryptocurrency gala with key investors, Mr. Trump maintains he is not involved in daily operations.
The trust company must fulfill additional requirements before receiving final approval to function as a bank.