Trump family crypto firm gets preliminary bank charter, sparking conflict-of-interest outcry

A cryptocurrency firm run by the family of President Donald Trump has received preliminary approval from a US financial regulator to establish a bank, igniting a conflict-of-interest controversy. Democratic lawmakers have blasted the arrangement — in which a presidential administration approves a business tied to the sitting president's family — as "the most brazen act of self-dealing in the history of the financial system."

According to CNN and other outlets, World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto company in which the Trump family holds a stake, received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Monday to establish a trust bank called World Liberty Trust Company National Association (WLTC), intended to operate a stablecoin business.

WLF must still meet additional conditions before receiving final approval, but the preliminary green light is considered a significant milestone for the company. A full charter would allow it to operate its own stablecoin business under federal oversight.

The central concern is that WLF is a business tied to a sitting president. With Trump in a position to influence cryptocurrency regulation and policy, the financial regulator under his administration has effectively granted a bank charter to a company connected to his family.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, condemned the decision as "the most brazen self-dealing act in the history of the financial system." CNN reported that critics have likened the situation to a variation on the "fox guarding the henhouse."

WLF's business ties to China are also drawing scrutiny. According to Reuters, WLF has a commercial relationship with Worldco, an AI services company headquartered in Hong Kong, and a WLF executive serves on Worldco's advisory board.

Worldco, founded earlier this year, uses crypto tokens issued by WLF as a payment method. About half of the AI models Worldco offers its customers come from Chinese companies, including Z.ai, Alibaba and Baidu.

The Trump administration has moved to restrict Chinese technology firms on national security and intellectual property grounds, making the crypto venture's links to Chinese AI companies a source of further controversy.