OCC Gives Conditional Approval to Trump-Backed Crypto Company World Liberty

A Trump-backed cryptocurrency company called World Liberty Trust Co. has received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate as a nationally chartered trust bank.

The OCC granted the conditional approval on Friday, which will allow World Liberty to issue its USD1 stablecoin to institutional clients nationwide and provide digital asset custody services as a fiduciary.

World Liberty applied for the charter in January and still needs to meet additional preopening requirements before it can begin operations.

The approval has been met with criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who have accused regulators of approving unqualified crypto companies for trust charters due to Trump's ownership stake in World Liberty entities.

Warren and other Democrats are pushing back with a new bill called the 'Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act,' which would block senior government officials from owning or controlling a bank.