Jonathan Gould, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, testified before Congress on June 4 that political pressure over World Liberty Financial’s bank charter application is coming exclusively from Democrats, not from President Trump or his allies.
Gould made the statement during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on stablecoin regulation. When pressed by Democratic lawmakers on whether he was favoring World Liberty Financial due to Trump’s ownership stake, Gould responded directly to the line of questioning.
“Your attempts to continue to pressure me are the only political pressure I’ve felt from anyone other than your Senate colleagues. That is very unfortunate and unprecedented,” Gould told the committee, according to testimony reviewed by CoinDesk.
World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm partially owned by President Trump and his family, has applied for a national trust-bank charter. Democrats have opposed the application, citing World Liberty’s ties to foreign investors and its connections to crypto partners previously associated with illicit activity, including Binance.
Gould defended his agency’s handling of the application, saying the OCC is following ethics laws and statutory requirements in its review process. He did not specify a timeline for the decision.
Stablecoin Regulation Framework Takes Shape
The hearing also addressed the GENIUS Act, a new law governing stablecoin regulation. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Travis Hill announced that a proposed rule requiring “customer identification programs” for stablecoin issuers is coming soon, though he did not detail the rule’s scope or implementation timeline.
Kyle Hauptman, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, emphasized the efficiency gains stablecoins could deliver. “As stablecoins are more widely adopted, we Americans may no longer be made fun of for speaking about how many ‘business days’ a payment will take to settle. Every day is a business day with stablecoins,” Hauptman said.
Representative Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, expressed skepticism about government use of stablecoins. “I can’t think of a worse idea than allowing government payments in stablecoins,” Sherman stated during the hearing.
Kraken Granted Limited Master Account Access
In a separate regulatory development, the Federal Reserve granted Kraken, a major crypto exchange, a master account with very limited access to the payments system. The initial approval carries a 12-month duration and does not provide full access to Federal Reserve services.
The grant represents a rare instance of Fed approval for a crypto exchange to access the payments infrastructure, though the restrictions underscore regulators’ caution toward the sector.
Sherman also raised concerns about enforcing the GENIUS Act’s prohibition on interest-bearing stablecoins, though regulators have not publicly addressed how they plan to monitor compliance with that restriction.
