Trump’s Family Crypto Firm Is Expected to Get Federal Banking Privileges

Trump-appointed bank regulators’ crypto-friendly approach is likely to extend to World Liberty Financial, despite ethics concerns.

President Donald Trump at Cryptocon.

President Donald Trump and his three sons co-founded crypto firm World Liberty Financial a few months before the 2024 presidential election. Mark Humphrey/AP

President Donald Trump’s family crypto business is expected to soon be allowed to operate like a bank — a decision that would give U.S. companies a new route to steer money to the president.

World Liberty Financial, the stablecoin and trading platform co-founded by Trump and his three sons, applied for a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, on Jan. 5. The Trump-appointed head of the OCC, Jonathan Gould, is due to announce his decision soon, and industry experts and congressional aides expect it to go in the Trump family’s favor.

Two former staffers at the banking regulator, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional reprisals, said it is all but certain that the OCC will approve the charter for Trump’s firm, with one saying it was “inconceivable” that the application would be denied.