Warren Signals Probe of WLFI Charter Process, Prediction Markets Ahead of Senate Banking Chairmanship

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, plans broad oversight of the Trump family's cryptocurrency business, prediction markets, Big Tech and Wall Street as she prepares to become chair of the Senate Banking Committee next year.

Decrypt reported on November 10 that a person familiar with Warren's plans said Big Tech chief executive officers, administration officials, the Trump family's crypto businesses, Wall Street executives and major corporations should preserve records and be prepared to answer tough questions.

Warren is set to assume the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee in January after Democrats won control of the Senate in last week's midterm elections. The panel oversees banking, housing, cryptocurrencies and the Federal Reserve, and its chair has the authority to hold hearings and open investigations.

Warren also plans to step up oversight of prediction markets. Her office has pointed to a regulatory gap around the sector and plans to examine whether its structure allows insiders to profit unfairly.

Crypto ventures tied to the Trump family are also poised to become a major target of scrutiny. In particular, the process by which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted a conditional bank charter to Trump-backed World Liberty Financial, or WLFI, in August could come under investigation.

Warren has also been critical of crypto market structure legislation. She opposed the Clarity Act, which failed to advance in the Senate this year, and has also challenged federal regulators' trust-bank charters for crypto firms and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's approach to overseeing crypto and prediction markets.

It remains unclear whether legislation pushed by Warren would become law. With President Donald Trump in the White House, Democratic-led bills could face a veto.