OCC Grants Preliminary Approval for Trump-Backed Digital Bank

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted preliminary conditional approval for World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture backed by the Trump family, to establish a federally chartered national trust bank. The bank will issue and safeguard USD1, a dollar-backed stablecoin with a market value of $4 billion.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi holds a 49% stake in the bank's holding company, WLTC Holdings, through StringZ Holding RSC. To address potential scrutiny, the OCC required the Trump family, World Liberty co-founders, and StringZ Holding to sign passivity commitments, pledging not to influence management decisions.

Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts have criticized the arrangement, citing potential conflicts of interest. They point to Sheikh Tahnoon's role as the national security adviser for the United Arab Emirates while the Trump administration simultaneously negotiates with the U.A.E. regarding artificial-intelligence chips. Both the White House and World Liberty Financial have denied that any conflicts of interest exist.