A senior U.S. senator has urged banking regulators to stop reviewing cryptocurrency companies’ banking charters, citing unresolved conflicts involving President Trump.
summation
- Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the OCC to stop reviewing WLFI bank charter applications.
- She cited unresolved conflicts of interest related to President Trump’s financial involvement.
- The request comes amid ongoing debate over cryptocurrency market rescue legislation.
Disputes over cryptocurrency regulation and the president’s business relationships are now being moved directly into the bank approval process.
On January 13, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to stop reviewing applications for national bank charters affiliated with World Liberal Finance (WLFI), citing unresolved conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump.
Warren Presses OCC on Review of WLFI Bank Charter
In a letter to OCC Inspector General Jonathan Gould, Warren requested a delay in reviewing the application filed by WLFI affiliate WLTC Holdings LLC. The cryptocurrency company was co-founded by Trump and includes financial involvement from members of his family.
Warren argued in the letter that approving the charter while Trump maintains a financial relationship with the company would put the OCC in an unprecedented position. She warned that the agency could end up regulating, overseeing and shaping the profitability of businesses directly tied to the sitting president.
According to Warren, the situation goes beyond standard ethics issues. She said the OCC leader would be a presidential appointee at the president’s discretion, effectively overseeing companies tied to the president’s own financial interests.
She wrote that this dynamic risks undermining trust in both regulators and the banking system more broadly.
This application will allow WLFI’s fiduciary banking entity to operate under a federal framework, potentially enabling activities such as issuing and storing USD1 stablecoins. Warren noted that approval could give the company a regulatory advantage at a time when Congress has yet to resolve key issues regarding the structure of the cryptocurrency market.
Related to the broader cryptocurrency bill discussion
Warren tied her request to ongoing legislative efforts, arguing that the current draft of the cryptocurrency market rescue bill does not address conflicts of interest related to the president’s involvement in digital asset companies. She also cited the recently passed GENIUS Act, which she said does not address these issues.
In the letter, Warren asked the OCC to pause the review until Trump fully divests from WLFI and eliminates any related financial conflicts. She requested a written commitment from the auditor by January 20 before any further action can be taken on the application.
The OCC did not respond publicly to the letter. The agency recently granted conditional approval to other cryptocurrency-related banking institutions, but Warren warned that moving forward with WLFI applications under the current circumstances could undermine confidence in federal banking oversight.
As lawmakers continue to debate how U.S. banking laws should regulate cryptocurrency companies, the issue is expected to come up again during the upcoming committee hike.