Former President Donald galaotega headlined an event online Monday to reveal a new cryptocurrency business and ties with his family, capitalize on his third run for the White House to promote his business interests.
During the livestream, Trump talked about the promise of cryptocurrency while talking about the second assassination attempt and attacking the Biden-Harris administration on border security. He did not speak directly to the new crypto firm, called World Liberty Financial.
“If we don’t do it, China will do it. China is doing it. But if we don’t do it, we won’t be the biggest, and we have to be the biggest and they are the best,” Trump said in an interview with Farokh Sarmad, a crypto expert and investor. The two spoke from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s country club in Palm Beach, Florida.
On the campaign trail, Trump has made a number of pro-crypto positions, from a pledge to loosen government regulations on digital currencies to creating a strategic bitcoin reserve. Earlier this month, Trump said he would make America “the capital of the world for crypto and bitcoin.”
The crypto boosterism is the face of Trump, who used to bash crypto but is now chasing campaign donations and votes in a tight race for the White House.
Trump said he wasn’t “overwhelmingly interested” in crypto at first, but the sale of his Trump-branded digital trading cards — non-fungible tokens known as NFTs — is his dance move. , wearing a superhero suit and holding a bitcoin – opened his eyes to the possibility of crypto. Trump received about $7.2 million in 2023 through a license agreement for NFTs, according to financial statements he presented in August.
Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital currency that can be traded online and outside the global banking system. Millions of Americans invest or trade in cryptocurrencies, and they have broad appeal among people wary of government intervention, but they are popular among young men.
“I think my kids opened my eyes more than anything else,” Trump said.
What is World Liberty Financial? What is DeFi?
Monday night’s announcement was also short on details.
World Liberty Financial will have its own crypto token, or “stablecoin,” whose value will be pegged to the US dollar. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to assets like the dollar in an attempt to maintain a stable price.
Only accredited investors will be able to purchase the tokens, World Liberty Financial said. About 63% of the tokens will be sold to the public. Twenty percent of the equity will be held by members of the Trump family and insiders and 17% will be set aside for user fees.
In recent weeks, Trump’s two eldest sons spoke with World Liberty Financial but offered few details. Eric Trump said the firm would encourage “financial independence”. Donald Trump Jr. he said “it will make finance fun again.”
In a video clip posted last week on his X account to promote Monday’s announcement, Trump said: “We’re embracing the future in crypto and leaving behind the slow and outdated big banks.”
Liberty Global’s portfolio includes “DeFi,” which stands for decentralized finance. DeFi refers to people who lend, borrow or engage in other forms of business without an intermediary such as a bank or stock exchange.
Trump, whose net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion by Forbes, has promoted DeFi as a way to prevent “big banks and financial elites” from oppressing ordinary Americans.
On Monday night, Donald Trump Jr. he said: “It’s a real problem that needs to be solved and I honestly think this is the way.”
Trump friend and real estate investor Steve Witkoff said DeFi could bring balance to the financial world by helping people who have trouble getting credit or are unbanked.
Crypto boosters say DeFi allows more people to participate than traditional financial methods. Regulators and analysts warn that DeFi is often unregulated and has weak consumer protections. Stablecoin is also used for illegal activities such as terrorism and drug trafficking.
Some crypto watchers said the project raised ethical red flags.
“There’s nothing I’ve seen about this that tells me they have the first people in security, economic planning or operations,” said Austin Campbell, a consultant, professor and author who has been in crypto since 2018. “I couldn’t tell. anyone in good faith to put their money into this or use it.”
Witkoff is one of the founders of World Liberty Financial, according to an internal report obtained by crypto news website CoinDesk. Other founders include Trump’s three sons — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump — as well as Witkoff’s son Alex.
Witkoff said his son introduced him to crypto trader Chase Herro and Herro’s business partner Zak Folkman. Witkoff introduced them to the Trumps.
Trump’s role at World Liberty Financial was unclear. He was identified in an internal report as “a leading crypto agent.”
How Trump became pro-crypto
Trump’s announcement signals the migration of digital currencies into mainstream America as crypto gains support from Wall Street institutions and from prominent business voices such as Elon Musk.
Crypto watchers say Trump’s involvement could increase its appeal.
Seoyoung Kim, author of “DeFi For Dummies” and assistant professor of finance at the Leavey School, Seoyoung Kim said: “It would be good for crypto because it will hit different people who were very skeptical about crypto and didn’t use crypto at all.” of Business at Santa Clara University. “A lot of people who wouldn’t want to get into anything related to crypto, can suddenly open a Coinbase account to buy crypto, even if they don’t know what it is.”
Trump’s views on crypto have changed significantly in recent years. During his presidency, Trump opposed crypto and later said Bitcoin was seen as a “scam.”
In 2019, Trump wrote that cryptocurrencies “aren’t money” and their value is “highly depreciable and out of thin air.” He also warned that digital currencies “can facilitate illegal behavior including drug trafficking and other illegal activities.”
As the Republican nominee, Trump has become friends with the industry, vowing during a fundraiser with tech executives in San Francisco to be the “crypto president.”
“If crypto is going to define the future, I want it to be mined, made and made in the USA,” Trump recently told the industry’s largest annual gathering.
Trump, who advertises everything from Trump-branded Bibles to sneakers, has mixed his business and political interests, raising new concerns that, if re-elected, he will use the presidency to strengthen his family’s businesses.
“Operational conflict of interest: Trump is on X holding his family’s crypto holdings less than two months before the presidential election that would give him the power to control the stock market crypto if he wins,” Tim O’Brien, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg Opinion. , wrote in X.
The crypto industry is one of the most profitable industries during the 2024 election.
Industry-funded political action committees have raised more than $170 million to elect crypto-friendly candidates. In May, Trump said his campaign would accept donations in cryptocurrency to enlist the support of a “crypto army.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Potential hacks cause concern at Trump crypto firm
Not everyone in the crypto industry is a fan of Trump’s new crypto business.
“I think one of the risks that Trump has to think about is the possibility of being hacked, which would be bad publicity for the project, in general, but it would be very bad publicity before the election,” he said. said Michele Neitz, visiting professor. University of San Francisco School of Law and founding director of the Center for Law, Technology and the Public Interest. “The project will attract a lot of attention, and these high-profile projects are often targeted at criminals.”
Unauthorized images that direct readers to a fake version of the World Liberty Financial website have recently appeared on the X accounts of Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law, and Trump’s daughter Tiffany Trump.
The bio on the company’s X account warned before the announcement: “Beware of Theft! Fake tokens and airdrop offers are circulating. We are not alive yet!”
Corey Caplan, a consultant at World Liberty Financial, said security is a priority.
Nic Carter, a Trump-supporting crypto investor, warned on X that World Liberty Financial would be “the sweetest DeFi target” for hackers.
“Trump’s plan is naturally going to invite a lot of scrutiny and from the accounts of the people involved, (it) doesn’t look like it has the power to stand up against sophisticated federal criminals,” Carter told USA TODAY .
#Trump #launches #crypto #business #World #Liberty #Financial