A trust company linked to the Trump family’s crypto business, World Liberty Financial, has received conditional approval to establish a bank. The Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) granted preliminary approval on Friday. This move allows World Liberty Trust Company to manage its own stablecoins independently.
World Liberty Financial, founded in 2024 by President Trump’s sons and the sons of Steve Witkoff, holds a 38% ownership by an entity connected to Donald J. Trump and his family, as per their website. The establishment of a bank has sparked criticism from Democrats, citing potential conflicts of interest due to the Trump family involvement.
“This creates the awkward situation of the OCC needing to police World Liberty, which has an affiliation with the president’s family,”said Austin Campbell, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.“It is pretty unprecedented.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, labeled the move as a “brazen act of self-dealing.” She, along with other Democratic senators, plans to introduce legislation to prevent the president and their family from owning or controlling a bank.
World Liberty claims to have implemented firewalls to prevent any family involvement in the bank’s operations during Trump’s presidency. A spokesperson for World Liberty emphasized that the bank charter would ensure ongoing regulatory supervision from the OCC, designed to outlast the Trump administration.
“Critics are missing the point: World Liberty Financial is running towards regulation and continuous oversight, not away from it,”the spokesperson stated.
The White House and Trump Organization have not responded to requests for comment.
Financial disclosure reports indicate that the crypto industry has generated significant revenue for President Trump, who earned at least $1.4 billion from crypto ventures last year. Although he hosted a gala with top investors, Trump claims no active role in daily operations. The trust company will need to satisfy additional requirements before final approval to become a bank.
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