The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has formally rejected U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren's request to pause the review of World Liberty Financial's (WLF) application for a national trust bank charter. Senator Warren had sought the delay until President Donald Trump and his family divested their stake in the crypto platform, citing significant conflicts of interest.
In a letter dated January 14, Warren argued that the President and his sons—Eric, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron—are listed as founders of WLF, a platform that has reportedly brought billions in paper wealth to the family. She demanded the OCC halt its review to prevent potential corruption.
OCC Acting Comptroller Jonathan Gould responded on Friday, stating the agency would proceed with evaluating WLF's application under existing regulatory standards. "The OCC intends to act consistent with this duty rather than your demand," Gould wrote. He emphasized that the charter application process under his leadership would be "apolitical and nonpartisan" and that WLF's submission would undergo the same "rigorous review" as any other.
WLF, a cryptocurrency firm partially owned by President Trump, submitted its application on January 7. The charter would allow the company to expand its crypto operations, notably enabling it to issue, custody, and convert its USD1 stablecoin in-house instead of relying on third-party providers like BitGo.
The USD1 stablecoin, launched in March 2025, has rapidly grown to become the sixth-largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of $4.2 billion. It is widely used for cross-border payments, settlement, and treasury operations.
This development follows a significant regulatory shift in December, when the OCC granted five conditional approvals for national trust bank charters to major crypto firms including Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos. This signaled a growing willingness to integrate crypto services into traditional finance (TradFi), despite a historical struggle for crypto companies to secure such charters.
