Trump Regulators Clear Family's Crypto Firm for Bank Charter

Regulators appointed by President Donald Trump have given preliminary conditional approval to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm founded by Trump and his sons in 2024. The green light from regulators is seen as a major milestone for World Liberty, but critics are alarmed about the potential conflict of interest.

The firm won't be able to take deposits or make loans, but its new bank charter will allow it to cut out middlemen when issuing USD1, a dollar-backed stable coin with over $4 billion in circulation. Critics worry that this move could create 'insurmountable conflicts of interest' and give the Trump family an unfair advantage.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the decision 'the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen.' The Senate Democrats plan to introduce a bill that would ban federal regulators from approving bank applications for banks owned or controlled by the president, vice president, or their family members.