Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking answers from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about World Liberty Financial’s request for a national trust bank charter intended for a dollar-backed token.
In a letter sent on Thursday, 41 members of the House Financial Services Committee, led by Representative Gregory Meeks, expressed concerns regarding systemic risk, foreign ownership, and the political influences that could impact the bank’s chartering process.
They urged Bessent to clarify the safeguards in place to prevent foreign officials or politically aligned investors from manipulating the charter process to control the U.S. financial system.
The lawmakers highlighted reports of a senior royal from the United Arab Emirates having obtained nearly half of World Liberty Financial for approximately $500 million, which included $187 million linked to Trump-associated organizations, all while the company sought a national trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Further, they noted that the merging of digital asset trust frameworks with unproven liquidity and foreign political interests raised critical issues that regulators cannot ignore.
In addition, the letter questioned whether Executive Order 14215, which they claim tightened the White House’s oversight of typically independent financial regulators, might affect the OCC’s ability to autonomously evaluate World Liberty’s application.
They requested a detailed explanation of the roles played by the White House, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Treasury in the OCC’s charter decisions, asking for a written response by Thursday.
World Liberty Financial’s Elevated Profile
This letter comes at a time when World Liberty Financial and other crypto initiatives related to Trump are becoming more prominent within both Washington and Wall Street, highlighted by a recent successful cryptocurrency event hosted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, attracting crypto and traditional finance leaders, including Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon.
In anticipation of the event, the WLFI token associated with the platform saw a 23% increase as organizers promoted the gathering as an opportunity to showcase World Liberty’s strategy and its broader role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Opposition to Bailouts for Crypto Investors
Separately, Senator Elizabeth Warren has urged Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell not to utilize taxpayer funds to stabilize crypto markets. She cautioned that bailing out cryptocurrency billionaires could create moral hazards, shifting losses from affluent investors to the taxpayers.
Her letter posited that any potential rescue efforts for major crypto entities and their investors would test whether policymakers would introduce banking-style support to the digital asset sector as regulators consider new charters and monitoring for crypto-related institutions.
