OCC chief says only Democrats are pressuring him on World…

OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould pushed back hard at a House Financial Services Committee hearing Thursday, telling Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks that the only political pressure his agency has felt over World Liberty Financial's bank-charter application is coming from Democrats — not from President Trump.

Why it matters

World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm co-owned by Trump and his family, is seeking a national trust-bank charter while simultaneously operating as a stablecoin issuer. Democrats argue that the firm's ties to foreign investors and partners with prior illicit-finance associations — including Binance — make it unfit for a U.S. banking license, and that a Trump appointee shouldn't be deciding the outcome. Gould's rebuttal frames the controversy as a partisan pressure campaign rather than a legitimate oversight concern, sharpening the political fault lines around crypto regulation heading into a critical legislative window.

Market impact

The hearing also advanced the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework. FDIC Chairman Travis Hill confirmed a new rule requiring customer-identification programs for stablecoin issuers is coming "in the very near future." The Fed's Michelle Bowman addressed Kraken's newly granted master account, describing it as narrow and time-limited to 12 months. Each of these signals — charter scrutiny, KYC rulemaking, and Fed payment-system access — will shape the compliance cost curve for stablecoin issuers and crypto exchanges operating in the U.S.