World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a company affiliated with the family of the U.S. president, has received preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a trust bank. This step undoubtedly marks an important milestone for the project, but at the same time it adds fuel to the fire of criticism aimed at the administration.
The application review process took seven months. To obtain final approval, WLFI will need to hire an independent auditor and maintain a minimum level of capital. Notably, three key investors, including one of the president's sons, have voluntarily agreed to limit their influence over the management of the future bank—likely to reduce the intensity of accusations of conflicts of interest.
This news resonates particularly strongly against the backdrop of statistics: over the first 19 months of Trump's second term, the OCC approved 22 banking licenses. That is more than in the previous five years combined. And a significant portion of these approvals went precisely to fintech companies and digital asset market players, including Circle and Coinbase.
WLFI insists that the federal charter is not a privilege but enhanced oversight. According to them, the future bank will hold reserves backing the USD1 stablecoin, which should increase confidence in the asset. Company representative David Waxman emphasizes that the project is coming under permanent OCC supervision, maintaining anti-money laundering and consumer protection requirements. Weekly reserve reports will undergo independent verification.
However, Democrats and independent experts see this as a troubling signal. Aaron Klein, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, expresses concern: "Creating the illusion among people that stablecoins are backed by the state raises real concerns." Skeptics fear that the "stablecoin" could become a tool for winning favor with the White House amid soft regulation.
My view
The WLFI situation is a classic example of how innovation collides with political reality. On the one hand, bringing crypto projects under federal oversight is a step toward legitimizing the industry. On the other hand, the concentration of such licenses during Trump's tenure and the direct connection to his family create a dangerous precedent. Even if all formalities are observed, a shadow of doubt will remain. And that, perhaps, is the main risk for the project itself: reputational damage could prove more costly than any regulatory approval.