Federal regulators give conditional approval to Trump family crypto bank

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted conditional approval to World Liberty Trust Co, a cryptocurrency firm linked to President Trump's family, to operate as a national trust bank. The decision, outlined in a letter posted on Friday, allows the company to move forward with plans but requires it to satisfy all preopening requirements before receiving final approval.

World Liberty Trust Co is sponsored by World Liberty Financial, which is 38 percent owned by an entity backed by Donald Trump Jr. and other Trump family members. The proposed bank, based in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, would issue and redeem its own stablecoin, USD1, pegged to the dollar and regulated by the OCC.

The approval has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic senators. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it "the most brazen act of self-dealing" and introduced the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act to bar charters for companies owned by a sitting president or his family. The OCC said the decision was made by career staff following statutory duties, not political directive.