Trump-Linked Crypto Firm Gets Preliminary Approval for Bank Charter
Federal regulators have given preliminary approval for World Liberty Trust Co., a cryptocurrency venture tied to President Trump and his family, to operate a digital-asset bank. The decision drew immediate condemnation from Senate Democrats, who are now pushing legislation to bar such an action.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and nine other Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would bar the president, the vice president, their immediate family members, and other senior government officials from owning or controlling banks.
The measure was proposed a day after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Co. to become a trust bank. The firm was founded in 2024 by two of Trump's sons and the sons of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's special envoy to the Middle East.
World Liberty Trust Co. would not act like a conventional bank, taking deposits or making loans. Instead, it would issue and manage cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The move would grant new financial powers to the Trump family's crypto business, which was already shown to be profitable for the president in his first year back in the White House.
Trump's financial disclosures show he has earned more than $1.2 billion from crypto-related projects as he has pushed to deregulate the digital-asset industry. He hauled in more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling new crypto products and is a significant owner of the firm through an entity called DT Marks DEFI LLC, which holds about a 38% stake.
Aside from World Liberty Financial, Trump last year took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type 'meme' coins stamped with his likeness. The White House said there are no conflicts of interest, but Democrats have pushed for more ethical guardrails to crack down on the Trump family's crypto ventures.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) said the decision to allow a Trump-linked crypto firm to charter its own bank is 'injecting risk into our financial system and fueling the Trump family's business endeavors.'