Wyden Seeks Answers from Key Financial Regulator on Trump’s Crypto Conflicts of Interest
The letter followed Trump signing a crypto bill into law as he and his family hold deep ties to stablecoin based on deals made with foreign entities
Washington, D.C. – Amid the Trump family’s explosion in wealth from its activity in cryptocurrency, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote this week to the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), a key stablecoin regulator, seeking detailed information about any steps the agency is taking to ensure Donald Trump’s enormous conflicts of interest do not interfere with its work to help maintain the stability of the U.S. financial system.
“The launch of a stablecoin directly tied to a sitting President who stands to benefit financially from the stablecoin’s success is itself an unprecedented conflict of interest presenting significant threats to our financial system,” the senators wrote to Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, who is leading the agency responsible for ensuring America’s banking system and implementing provisions of the GENIUS Act.
Trump and his family cut a deal with a foreign government-backed entity and foreign corporation, which recently pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions. That deal let them potentially rake in hundreds of millions of dollars from this highly publicized and corrupt transaction. This deal with MGX-Binance (MGX) came as Congress was considering crypto legislation that would enhance OCC’s oversight into regulating stablecoin.
The senators continued in their letter, “Taken together, the passage of the GENIUS Act and the President’s Executive Order raises serious concerns that President Trump could block OCC actions that reduce the profitability of his stablecoin project, or direct the OCC to take actions that are favorable to World Liberty Financial (WLF) – or that, even absent direction, the OCC could feel pressure to do so–regardless of the expense or the impact of these interventions on the economy and the financial system.”
To ensure the OCC is prepared to uphold its mandate without being involved in Trump and his family’s financial conflict of interests, the senators requested a response from Comptroller Gould detailing how he will safeguard the agency’s work from presidential interference.
In addition to Wyden, the letter is led by Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
The full text of the letter is here.
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