Elizabeth Warren urges OCC to pause WLFI bank charter review over Trump conflict of interest

A senior U.S. senator is urging banking regulators to halt review of a crypto firm’s bank charter, citing unresolved conflicts tied to President Trump.

Summary

• Senator Elizabeth Warren called on the OCC to halt review of WLFI bank charter application.
• She cited unresolved conflicts of interest tied to President Trump’s financial involvement.
• The request comes amid ongoing debate over crypto market structure legislation.

A dispute over crypto regulation and presidential business ties is now moving directly into the banking approval process.

On Jan. 13, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to halt its review of a national bank charter application tied to World Liberty Financial (WLFI), citing unresolved conflicts of interest involving President Donald Trump.

Warren presses OCC over WLFI bank charter review

Warren’s letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould called for a delay in reviewing the application submitted by WLTC Holdings LLC, an entity affiliated with WLFI. The crypto firm was co-founded by Trump and includes financial involvement from members of his family.

In her letter, Warren argued that approving the charter while Trump maintains financial ties to the company would place the OCC in an unprecedented position. She warned that the agency could end up regulating, supervising, and shaping the profitability of a business linked directly to the sitting president.

According to Warren, the situation goes beyond standard ethics concerns. She said the OCC head, as a presidential appointee serving at the president’s discretion, would effectively be overseeing a company tied to the president’s own financial interests.

That dynamic, she wrote, risks undermining confidence in both the regulator and the banking system more broadly.

The application would allow WLFI’s trust bank entity to operate under a federal framework, potentially enabling activities such as issuing and custodying its USD1 stablecoin. Warren noted that approval could grant the company regulatory advantages at a time when Congress has yet to resolve key questions around crypto market structure.

Tied to broader crypto legislation debate

Warren linked her request to ongoing legislative efforts, arguing that current drafts of crypto market structure bills do not address conflicts of interest tied to presidential involvement in digital asset companies. She also referenced the recently passed GENIUS Act, saying it failed to resolve these issues.

In the letter, Warren asked the OCC to pause its review until Trump fully divests from WLFI and eliminates any related financial conflicts. She requested a written commitment from the Comptroller by Jan. 20, before any further action on the application proceeds.

The OCC has not publicly responded to the letter. The agency has recently granted conditional approvals to other crypto-related banking entities, but Warren warned that moving forward with the WLFI application under current circumstances could erode trust in federal banking oversight.

As lawmakers continue to debate how U.S. banking law should regulate cryptocurrency firms, the issue is expected to come up again during upcoming committee markups.