The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved a national trust bank charter for World Liberty Trust Co., an entity tied to the Trump family-backed crypto firm World Liberty Financial, drawing immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
A federal banking regulator has granted conditional approval for a national trust bank charter to an entity connected to World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm partially owned by President Donald Trump's family, raising fresh conflict-of-interest concerns from congressional Democrats.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday issued a conditional approval letter for World Liberty Trust Co.'s charter application, according to a document posted on the OCC's website. World Liberty Financial states on its own website that 38% of the company is owned by "an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members."
The charter, if fully granted, would allow World Liberty to issue stablecoins directly — a type of cryptocurrency pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar and typically backed by reserve assets such as U.S. Treasurys. The company currently relies on third-party custodian BitGo for some of those services, and bringing them in-house could prove financially significant.
The approval is not yet final. World Liberty Trust Co. must complete additional steps, including raising capital, before the charter process is fully concluded.
"We welcome continuous scrutiny from Federal regulators for many years to come," World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff said in a statement. Witkoff, who also chairs the OCC-regulated trust company, is the son of Steven Witkoff, Trump's Middle East negotiator.
The OCC declined to comment on the approval.
Under the Trump administration, the OCC has signaled broad support for new charter applications, which are reviewed in part by career staff. The agency has received 40 charter applications since 2025 — a sharp increase compared with applications filed during President Joe Biden's term, according to agency data. Many of those applications are connected to crypto-related projects.
The decision is drawing immediate pushback from Democrats who have been pressing the OCC to withhold approval unless Trump divested from his crypto interests. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., had specifically urged the agency not to proceed with World Liberty's application absent such a divestiture.
More broadly, some congressional Democrats have withheld support for the Clarity Act — a bill designed to establish a regulatory framework for the crypto industry — citing its failure to impose strict limits on a sitting president's ability to profit from digital asset ventures.
The conditional approval arrives at a moment when crypto-linked financial entities are seeking deeper integration into the traditional banking system, and regulators are navigating competing pressures from lawmakers, industry stakeholders, and their own career staff. How aggressively Democrats push back — and whether the Clarity Act's stalled negotiations gain new momentum — may determine how quickly World Liberty can complete the remaining steps to finalize its charter.
Marc Sabatini is a staff writer at TechEchelon covering enterprise software, cybersecurity, and the regulatory beats that shape both. He focuses on the deal flow and policy decisions that move markets.
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