In the end, Trump was quick to agree. He previously described Bitcoin as “scamPresident Trump recently Sales pitch As crypto president, Trump spoke to thousands of bitcoin enthusiasts at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee in July, promising to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the earth” and establish a national “bitcoin reserve” if re-elected. Post to X After the speech, Tyler Winklevoss congratulated the former president for taking the “orange pill,” code words for “brainwashing.”
When Eric and Donald Jr. first suggested the World Liberty Financial Project, Speculation They were gearing up to launch the official Trump crypto token.
Dozens of Trump-inspired meme coins have hit the market in the last year, fluctuating in price to coincide with Trump’s changing political fortunes and acting as harbingers of the upcoming election. One such token, DJT, was launched in early June. Prices soared There are rumors that the Trump family is the source of this. Broadcast on XMartin Shkreli, known as the “Pharmabro,” claimed to have created the token in collaboration with former President Barron Trump’s 18-year-old son. On August 6, the price of DJT rose to $1. 90 percent drop After DJT was sold off in bulk by an anonymous token holder, Shkreli was asked if he knew who was responsible for the sale, to which he replied in an email to WIRED, “It wasn’t me!” DJT’s price on Monday was $0.0002441 per coin.
The Trump campaign’s press office did not respond to questions about Barron’s alleged involvement with the DJT token. Post to X Ahead of World Liberty Financial’s announcement, Donald Jr. warned his followers to “beware of fake tokens claiming to be part of the Trump Project.”
World Liberty Financial will face stiff competition in a DeFi market already crowded with similar services such as Aave, Compound and Venus Protocol. “DeFi is pretty mature, especially in terms of over-collateralization,” said Zach Hamilton, founder of crypto startup Sarcophagus and venture partner at venture capital firm Venture51.
But the Trumps don’t necessarily need to do anything new when they can use their vast public base to promote new ventures.”[World Liberty Financial] “We’re launching with the most free marketing a crypto company can get,” Hamilton said. “Trump is the rent-free king in people’s minds.”
DeFi incumbents are cautiously optimistic about the prospect of the Trump family’s involvement, welcoming the public attention but also wary of the damage it could cause to World Liberty Financial’s reputation if it fails or suffers financial losses due to technical issues.
“We welcome any efforts to bring DeFi to the mainstream,” said Venus Protocol CEO Brad Harrison, “But like Tesla’s Autopilot, DeFi may look simple on the surface, but its inner workings are complex. Without skilled technologists and financial engineers to grasp its nuances, new platforms risk becoming more of a branding exercise than a substantive, secure contribution to the space.”
Regardless of the risks of placing their trust in a crypto platform that’s yet to be battle-tested, industry enthusiasts are likely to turn to World Liberty Financial if only to show their support for Trump’s political efforts. “We’re now treating crypto as a right-wing Republican product, without a doubt,” says co-author Jacob Silverman. Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. “The industry is very connected to the Republican Party and they are the largest industry donor during this election cycle.”
In spirit Various British politicians Have Retiring to Crypto PositionWorld Liberty Financial may represent an attempt by Trump to provide himself with a backup in case of defeat in the upcoming election.
“Maybe his raucous reception at the Nashville crypto conference gave him the impression that this is the world he wants to be in, because people love him and he can make money,” Silverman says. “For all his flaws, he understands the crowd.”
