OCC Approves Trust Charter for Trump Family Crypto Company

The US financial regulator granted conditional approval for World Liberty Financial’s charter application, while 10 Democratic lawmakers backed a bill aimed at “preventing corruption in banking applications.”

Amid scrutiny and conflict-of-interest allegations from several lawmakers, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved World Liberty Financial’s application for a national trust bank.

In a Friday notice, the OCC said World Liberty’s charter application had received conditional approval, subject to specific regulatory and policy requirements, allowing the company to operate as World Liberty Trust Company, National Association. Its application outlined plans to issue US dollar-backed stablecoins and provide custody services for digital assets linked to its USD1 token.

The OCC’s approval came as concerns grew over potential conflicts of interest involving World Liberty and US President Donald Trump’s family. Trump and his three sons are affiliated with the company, while OCC chief Jonathan Gould was nominated by Trump in 2025. World Liberty’s website also stated that a Trump family entity controlled 38% of the company’s equity interests.

According to the agency, “the Comptroller and staff acted consistently with their statutory duties and ethical obligations” throughout the application process. Gould had previously said the application would undergo an “apolitical and nonpartisan process” after receiving a letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren.

In response to the approval, Warren said Friday that she had introduced legislation “to stop this kind of unprecedented corruption,” describing the OCC’s decision as “the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen.” Following the approval, she and nine other senators introduced the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act.

Under the Trump administration and Gould’s leadership, the OCC has approved or conditionally approved several applications from crypto firms seeking trust charters to broaden their services in the US. In December, the agency approved applications from Circle, Ripple Labs, Crypto.com and Coinbase after Congress passed the GENIUS stablecoin legislation.

World Liberty’s UAE Connections Face Scrutiny in US Congress#

As the OCC approval moves forward, several lawmakers continue to demand investigations into World Liberty’s connections with foreign entities that could potentially influence US policy through Trump.

An Abu Dhabi investment firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser, reportedly acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million in January 2025. Another UAE-based entity, MGX, used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to invest $2 billion in crypto exchange Binance. Trump later granted a presidential pardon to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

A White House spokesperson has repeatedly maintained that Trump’s investments involve “no conflicts of interest.”