WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has granted preliminary approval for a cryptocurrency venture backed by President Donald Trump’s family to operate a federally chartered trust bank, a decision that drew sharp criticism from Democrats over potential conflicts of interest.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it conditionally approved World Liberty Trust Co.’s application for a national trust bank charter. The company must satisfy additional requirements before receiving final approval.
The decision would give new federal regulatory standing to a business in which Trump and his family retain a substantial financial interest, according to Politico.
World Liberty Trust President and Chairman Zach Witkoff said the charter would allow the company to manage its USD1 stablecoin, whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar, under OCC supervision. Witkoff is the son of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy.
‘Continuous Scrutiny’ is Welcome
“USD1 grew because institutions trust how it operates, and confidence at enterprise scale deserves the backing of federal supervision,” Zach Witkoff said. “We welcome continuous scrutiny from federal regulators for many years to come.”
Democrats Cite Conflicts
The decision drew immediate criticism from congressional Democrats and government ethics advocates.
“This is the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen — and Congress cannot allow it to stand,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.
Warren and other Democrats introduced legislation Friday that would prohibit federal regulators from approving banks owned or controlled by the president or the president’s family, vice president, members of Congress and certain other senior government officials.
A Democratic Senate aide told Politico the Banking Committee would likely investigate the OCC’s decision next year if Democrats regain control of Congress.
‘Egregious Example’
Donald Sherman, CEO of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called the approval “the most egregious example to date of the president’s businesses profiting from his government job.”
World Liberty has rejected conflict-of-interest allegations, saying Trump does not manage the company and none of its executives or employees work for the federal government. The White House has similarly said Trump does not participate in business transactions that could conflict with his presidential responsibilities.
Trump Family Retains Stake
Despite those arrangements, Trump and his family retain a significant financial interest in World Liberty Financial, Politico reported.
DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity affiliated with Trump and family members, owns about 38% of the holding company controlling World Liberty Financial, according to the company’s website. The entity and Trump family members also hold 22.5 billion World Liberty governance tokens.
Trump disclosed nearly $600 million in income from World Liberty token and equity sales in 2025, part of $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related earnings, Politico reported. Trump has said his financial interests are managed by his children.
The conditional charter does not authorize World Liberty to operate as a traditional bank. As a national trust bank, it would not make loans or accept federally insured deposits.
What Charter Allows
The charter would, however, allow World Liberty to issue and redeem USD1 directly, manage reserves backing the stablecoin and provide digital asset custody services without an intermediary. A federal charter also could make it easier to operate nationwide without obtaining separate approvals from individual states.
The OCC under Trump has granted similar conditional approvals to other cryptocurrency companies, including Circle, Ripple and Coinbase.
