U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday called on federal regulators to halt their review of a national bank charter application related to World Liberty Financial (WLF), intensifying a high-stakes clash over ethics, stablecoin regulation and the growing role of crypto companies in the U.S. banking system. in Letter to Jonathan GouldElizabeth Warren has asked the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to suspend proceedings until potential conflict of interest concerns involving President Donald Trump are fully resolved.
Amid the controversy, World Liberty Markets executives pointed to the platform’s early traction.
“Two days later, World Liberty Markets’ TVL exceeded $50 million.
The most encouraging thing so far has been the quality of feedback and how quickly users are engaging with the product.
It’s still early, but it’s off to a good start. ”
— Zak Folkman, co-founder and COO of World Liberty Markets, in a post on X (formerly Twitter). World Liberty Markets operates separately from World Liberty Financial, which seeks a banking charter, but is affiliated with the broader World Liberty ecosystem.
Warren asks OCC to suspend charter review
At the center of the dispute is World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency venture co-founded by Donald Trump that is seeking federal banking charter through its subsidiary WLTC Holdings. The application allows world liberty financial (WLF) aims to issue and manage deposits tied to the company’s stablecoin, USD1, and bring the company under a supervised umbrella. Comptroller of the Currency.
In a letter dated January 13, 2026, Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould to delay his review of World Liberty Financial’s (WLF) national trust bank charter application, warning that the company poses an “unprecedented” conflict of interest because it was co-founded with President Donald Trump.
Warren wrote that it was recently enacted. GENIUS 2025 ActAlthough it made the OCC the primary regulator for stablecoin issuers, it did not envision a scenario in which a sitting president maintains a direct financial stake in a company seeking federal banking approval. He asked the OCC to suspend the process until Trump and his family withdraw from World Liberty Financial (WLF), argued that approving the application without resolving these conflicts could undermine regulatory independence and public trust, and asked for a written commitment by January 20.
He called for increased disclosure, independent oversight and, if necessary, politically exposed sales by World Liberty Financial (WLF) officials.
Donald Trump’s involvement has been heavily implicated in this application. Donald Trump is both the president of the United States and the co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLF), a dual role that Elizabeth Warren described as a textbook conflict of interest.
Warren warned that approving the charter under these circumstances could erode public trust in the OCC and blur the line between executive power and private financial interests. References to Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial (WLF) have fueled a partisan debate within the Senate Banking Committee, with Democrats urging alarm and Republicans accusing Elizabeth Warren of politicizing financial innovation.
World Liberty Financial previously said the proposed bank charter would allow it to consolidate the issuance, custody, and exchange of the USD1 stablecoin within a single, highly regulated entity, according to comments from co-founder Zach Witkoff.
Unprecedented decision on stablecoins
The OCC has not announced whether it will grant Elizabeth Warren’s request for a delay. Any decision will be closely watched by lawmakers, regulators, and crypto companies as it could set a precedent for how politically connected applicants are treated under the GENIUS law.
For now, the World Liberty Financial (WLF) charter bid has become a defining test of government ethics and the future of U.S. stablecoin regulation due to the clash between Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump.
