Senator Elizabeth Warren has formally demanded the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) suspend its review of a bank charter application filed by World Liberty Financial (WLF), the crypto project controlled by the Trump family. In a letter sent Tuesday to Comptroller Jonathan Gould, Warren argues the application creates an “unprecedented” conflict of interest where the President would effectively regulate his own financial institution.
The dispute centers on World Liberty Financial’s filing to establish the World Liberty Trust Company, a national trust bank designed to custody and issue the project’s USD1 stablecoin. Warren’s letter asserts that because the Comptroller serves at the pleasure of the President, approving the charter would allow Donald Trump to oversee the agency responsible for his family’s banking profits.
The Conflict of Interest
Warren’s ultimatum is specific: the OCC must pause the application until President Trump fully divests from the company. The Senator cited public disclosures revealing the Trump family is entitled to 75% of net proceeds from WLF token sales and significant revenue shares from the project’s stablecoin operations.
“In effect, for the first time in history, the President of the United States would be in charge of overseeing his own financial company… You must make decisions that benefit the American public, not President Trump’s pocketbook.”
The letter warns that if the charter is granted, the OCC would be responsible for examining the safety, soundness, and anti-money laundering controls of a bank owned by the official who appoints the agency’s leadership. Warren previously flagged this risk in July, prior to the formal application, describing the potential regulatory capture as a “dangerous agenda.”
Stablecoin Ambitions & Market Reaction
The charter application is a pivotal step for World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin, which has grown to approximately $3.3 billion in circulation since its March 2025 launch. A national trust charter would allow WLF to bypass state-by-state money transmitter licenses and access the federal banking system directly for custody and settlement.
Despite the regulatory headwind, the project’s governance token, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), remained resilient. The token traded flat at $0.17 (+0.7%) on Tuesday, with a market capitalization of $4.5 billion. Volume remained steady, suggesting the market currently views the political friction as noise rather than an existential threat to the project’s operations.
Regulatory Standoff
The standoff places Comptroller Gould in a precarious position. While the OCC has conditionally approved similar charters for crypto natives like Paxos and Anchorage in the past, WLF represents the first time a sitting President has held a direct beneficial interest in an applicant. Warren has requested a written commitment regarding the divestment demand by January 20.
