Trump’s crypto bank bid accelerates federal conflict fears

World Liberty Financial, the Trump-linked cryptocurrency venture launched ahead of the 2024 election, is seeking approval for a national trust bank charter—an action critics say could cut fees and tighten federal oversight under agencies appointed by the presi

When Donald Trump returned to the presidency, he promised he wasn’t running his outside businesses day to day. But World Liberty Financial—an operation that began building its crypto empire months before the 2024 election—has now moved to the edge of something more consequential: a national trust bank charter.

If approved, the company could issue a USD1 “stablecoin” more freely, using fewer hoops tied to crypto exchanges. The change matters not only because it would broaden the venture’s reach in U.S. markets. but because the charter review sits with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency—an agency whose leadership is appointed by the president.

World Liberty was launched by Trump. along with his real-estate-buddy-turned-diplomat Steve Witkoff and both his and Witkoff’s sons. just a few months before the 2024 election. Earlier this year. the Wall Street Journal reported that a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family acquired a 49 percent stake in the company just days before Trump was inaugurated—an investment that netted the Trump family at least $187 million.

Now, World Liberty is on the verge of being approved for a national trust bank charter, NOTUS reported last week. Critics say the timing and the structure of the application add up to a conflict of interest at the heart of the federal review process.

That potential charter would also change how the company holds and uses its reserves. The USD1 stablecoin is backed one-to-one by reserves—one side is U.S. dollars provided to World Liberty, and the company issues a corresponding virtual currency. The reserves are invested in Treasuries, with interest kept as part of the business model.

In spring of 2025, an investment firm backed by the national security adviser of the UAE purchased $2 billion of these stablecoins using U.S. dollars and directed that money toward Binance. The stablecoin, USD1, went from nothing to becoming one of the most popular stablecoins.

The banking charter, Public Citizen’s Zach Everson argues, would remove bottlenecks that exist now. At present. reserves have to be held elsewhere. and the company cannot issue its own coin in the United States—steps that require working through outside channels. With a trust license. the company could issue its USD1 stablecoin more directly through bank mechanisms and. critics say. collect more fees while cutting out middlemen.

Public Citizen and other groups also frame the charter application as an extreme example of regulatory capture—when business interests effectively gain control over the agency meant to regulate them. Here. Everson describes a process where World Liberty would be reviewed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. which is part of the Treasury and would be operating under an administration the president leads.

In that view, the decision would be made by an agency leadership that answers to the White House.

Everson points to another shift that could make state pushback harder. If the charter is granted, he says, World Liberty would fall under federal regulators rather than state regulators. That would place the company under a federal umbrella in a way that appears intended to limit how states could respond.

The concerns don’t stop at U.S. oversight. Everson also describes the investment relationships surrounding the venture—especially the involvement of a foreign government-linked investor and the scale of money flowing in around Trump’s transition into office.

“There’s an issue where we have a foreign government investing in this. ” Everson said. describing it as a major conflict because a foreign-linked firm backed by the UAE national security adviser also owns 49 percent of World Liberty Financial. Everson added that the American public “didn’t find out about” the ownership until a year after it took place.

In the conversation, he tied the scrutiny to questions that have long followed Trump’s presidency—concerns about the U.S. Constitution’s limits on the president accepting payments from foreign powers.

Everson also questioned how long-standing public tolerance for Trump business dealings has changed the stakes. He referenced how. during Trump’s first term. people were often prepared to dismiss improprieties as part of who he is—particularly in high-profile arrangements like the DC hotel and golf clubs. which became familiar targets of foreign-emoluments concerns.

For all of it, the money numbers landing inside the Trump family have continued to draw attention. Everson cited Forbes reporting that Eric Trump’s net worth rose from $40 million before his father was elected to $400 million. He said Donald Trump Jr. went from $50 million to $300 million. and he described Barron Trump as worth about $150 million. while noting that a substantial share of that wealth. in his telling. came through World Liberty Financial.

Trump has said he is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of World Liberty. Witkoff has divested outright.

But even with those assurances, the charter process now places a crypto venture built alongside the Trump family and their partners in line for federal banking privileges—under an approval pathway critics say concentrates power too close to the president who can shape the regulators overseeing it.

World Liberty Financial Trump crypto national trust bank charter Office of the Comptroller of the Currency USD1 stablecoin Binance UAE investment conflict of interest regulatory capture Public Citizen