Trump Family Crypto Firm Gets Conditional Banking Approval, Raising Ethics Concerns

A company linked to President Trump's family has received conditional approval for a bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The OCC granted preliminary approval for an application from World Liberty Trust Co. for a national trust bank, according to a letter posted on the OCC's website.

The proposed bank would be headquartered in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, and this banking charter would allow the trust company to directly issue and redeem its USD1 stablecoin, which is valued at $1.

World Liberty Financial, the sponsor of World Liberty Trust Co., is 38 percent owned by an entity linked to President Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., and other members of the Trump family.

However, not everyone is pleased with this development. Some Democrats have raised concerns about potential ethics violations tied to this preliminary approval.

Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren called the approval 'the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen' in a statement shared on social media.