Trump-picked OCC head proceeds with consideration of WLF's bank charter

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has knocked back US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s bid to pause the review of World Liberty Financial’s application for a national trust bank charter, a move she sought until US President Donald Trump divests his stake in the crypto platform.

The OCC’s Jonathan Gould confirmed on Friday that WLF’s application will be evaluated under existing regulatory standards while emphasizing that no political or personal financial ties will impact the procedural review of the bank charter.

“The OCC intends to act consistent with this duty rather than your demand,” he said in response to Warren’s Jan. 14 letter.

“The OCC charter application process should be, and under my leadership will be, an apolitical and nonpartisan process.”

Gould added that WLF’s application would be subject to a “rigorous review,” like any application it receives.

Extract of Gould’s response to Warren. Source: US Senate Banking Committee

Warren’s criticisms were based on the President and his sons Eric, Donald Trump Jr, and Barron being listed as World Liberty founders, and the platform bringing in billions of dollars in paper wealth for the family.

WLF submitted the application on Jan. 7 to expand its crypto operations, including enabling it to issue, custody and convert its $USD1 ($USD1) stablecoin in-house, rather than rely on third-party providers such as BitGo.

Related: BitGo’s IPO pop turns volatile as shares slip below offer price

$USD1 is already widely used for cross-border payments, settlement, and treasury operations and has become the sixth-largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of $4.2 billion since launching in March 2025.

Crypto industry has struggled to secure banking charters

National trust banking charters have been hard to secure for crypto companies in the past.

However, a breakthrough came in December when the OCC awarded five conditional approvals to Circle, Ripple, Fidelity Digital Assets, BitGo, and Paxos, signaling the currency regulator’s willingness to expand crypto services into TradFi.

Magazine: A ‘tsunami’ of wealth is headed for crypto: Nansen’s Alex Svanevik