OCC Grants Conditional Bank Charter to Trump-Family Crypto Firm
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- Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved World Liberty Trust Company's application for a national trust bank charter on Friday, according to a letter posted on the regulator's website.
- World Liberty Financial says on its website it is 38% owned by "an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members."
- The charter will let World Liberty issue stablecoins backed by safe reserves such as U.S. Treasurys, bringing that capability in-house from third-party BitGo.
- Zach Witkoff, CEO of World Liberty Financial and chairman of the OCC-regulated trust company, welcomed "continuous scrutiny from Federal regulators"; he is the son of Trump's Middle East negotiator Steven Witkoff.
- The approval is conditional on additional steps including raising capital; the OCC has received 40 bank charter applications since 2025, a sharp increase from Biden's term, many tied to crypto projects.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other congressional Democrats have refused to support the Clarity Act because it does not impose strict limits on the president's ability to profit from crypto ventures; Warren previously urged the OCC not to approve unless Trump divested.
Why it matters: The conditional charter lets a Trump-family-linked firm capture stablecoin economics now routed through BitGo, a potentially lucrative shift, while 38% family ownership gives the president direct exposure to a regulated crypto banking business. The OCC has fielded 40 charter applications since 2025 versus far fewer under Biden, signaling a regulatory climate tilted toward crypto entrants even as Democrats like Warren block the Clarity Act over presidential conflicts of interest.
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