Trump-Linked Crypto Venture Granted Bank Status Amid Conflict of Interest Concerns
A Trump-linked crypto venture has been granted bank status in an unprecedented move for a sitting president. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) conditionally approved World Liberty Trust Co., which is 38% owned by an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and his family, to issue stablecoin cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar.
The approval allows the company to act as a bank, issuing digital currency to clients for transactions. Clients would exchange the U.S. dollar for the stablecoin, with profits going directly to the Trump family's crypto business.
World Liberty Financial, the listed sponsor of the conditionally approved trust, has previously relied on a third-party crypto company, BitGo, to provide a stable digital currency.
Ranking Member of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., had urged the OCC to halt approval of Trump-linked business ventures, writing a letter to the comptroller in January.