Trump Family's Crypto Bank Wins Federal Approval Despite Conflict of Interest Concerns

WASHINGTON —

A crypto bank partly owned by the family of President Donald Trump has won conditional approval from federal regulators to begin operating, even though experts say the venture makes little financial sense unless depositors are trying to win favor with the White House.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a federal banking regulator led by a Trump appointee, granted World Liberty Financial Trust Company conditional approval earlier this month, Guardian Business reported. An entity tied to Trump and his relatives owns about 38 percent of the company.

World Liberty is not a bank in any traditional sense. It cannot lend money, issue mortgages or credit cards, or get federal insurance on deposits, according to Guardian Business. What it can do is issue USD1, a stablecoin created by the Trump family's crypto venture that is pegged to the value of the US dollar.

A business model built on political access

Under the GENIUS Act, the federal law Trump signed in July 2025 that created the first national regulatory framework for stablecoins, issuers cannot pay depositors interest on the funds they hand over. World Liberty's bank, however, can invest that cash in Treasury bonds and keep the interest for itself, Guardian Business reported.

That leaves little obvious reason for anyone to buy USD1 over competitors like Tether or Circle's USDC, which have far larger market shares. James Angel, an associate professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, told Guardian Business that currying favor with Trump is "the only reason really" to do it. "This is a very efficient way to buy influence with the Trump gang," he said.

Democrats have pointed out that no other US president has held a financial stake in a bank that his own administration would approve and oversee, according to Guardian Business. Jeremy Kress, a law professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, called the approval "unprecedented," telling Guardian Business that Trump "controls the bank regulatory process" and got the bank he wanted approved.

Regulator and company defend the approval

The comptroller's office has said the application was reviewed by career staff rather than the Trump-appointed head of the agency, and that it consulted government ethics officials to ensure the process followed the rules, Guardian Business reported. A World Liberty spokesperson said the charter would bring "robust and permanent regulatory supervision" that outlasts the Trump administration.

USD1 currently has about $4 billion in circulation, compared with roughly $183 billion for Tether and more than $70 billion for USDC, according to Guardian Business. World Liberty has said USD1 is nonetheless the second-largest stablecoin by market value and trading volume among coins that comply with the GENIUS Act, since Tether does not meet that law's requirements.

Trump signed the GENIUS Act in July 2025, months after his family's venture launched USD1 in March of that year. At a White House event, Trump said he named the legislation after himself and credited it with paving the way for "widespread adoption of dollar-backed stablecoins."