Trump's Crypto Firm Set for Federal Banking Privileges Amid Conflict-of-Interest Fears

Critics are sounding the alarm as President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency firm is on track to receive federal banking privileges. According to a recent report, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will grant World Liberty Financial, the crypto startup founded by members of the Trump family and Steve Witkoff, a national trust bank charter.

This would provide World Liberty Financial with significant legal and financial benefits, including the ability to settle financial transactions akin to Venmo or PayPal on its platform. The company's leadership claims that none of its employees work for the US government, despite the president and his family standing to personally benefit from the charter's approval.

Consumer Federation of America director Corey Frayer expressed outrage at the prospect of a sitting president being granted such privileges by a comptroller he appointed himself. 'For the first time in history, a president is leaning on a bank regulator to give his private enterprise the implicit backing of the federal government,' Frayer said.

Veteran financial journalist Diana Henriques also weighed in on the matter, stating that it's 'functionally impossible to regulate a bank owned by the president.' She warned that granting World Liberty Financial its charter could imperil the entire banking system if it runs off the rails. 'This has to be stopped,' Henriques wrote.