Cryptocurrency was mentioned for the first time about 16 minutes after former Republican President Trump gave a speech on “The Current State of Cryptocurrency” on X.
For more than a month, the former president and his family have been hatching a secret Trump Organization encryption project, promising that it would do many things at once.
Early descriptions indicate that World Free Finance will be a crypto banking platform 70% owned by a small group of Trump family members and insiders. Users will be able to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies on the platform and original investors will be paid through fees.
Now, 50 days before the presidential election, the Republican candidate said he will launch World Liberty Financial at a Twitter Spaces event, which will take place at his Palm Beach resort and home shortly after 8 p.m. ET on Monday. Lake Manor begins.
The Republican presidential candidate opened up the conversation around cryptocurrency by talking about how much his three sons know about the industry and “how they have demonstrated excellent judgment.”
“Barron understands this very well,” Trump said of his youngest son. “He talks about his wallet. He has four wallets or something, but he knows these things.”
Since then, Trump has struck familiar topics, addressing the SEC’s hostility toward the digital currency industry. Several prominent figures in the industry have taken issue with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, claiming he regulates the industry through enforcement actions rather than rules.
“We are embracing the future with cryptocurrencies and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” Trump said in a statement. Video posted to X Thursday.
Early in the event, Trump conducted an “interview” with Farokh Sarmad, a cryptocurrency enthusiast and investor who owns a media company.
CNBC sent detailed questions to the World Liberty Financial news email address on Monday. Shortly after, CNBC received an email response from an anonymous Gmail account that did not answer CNBC’s questions and did not list the name of the sender.
Monday’s event comes at an unprecedented moment for Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump and his longtime friend and political donor Steve Witkoff on Sunday afternoon at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Between the fifth and sixth holes of the course when gunfire rang out. The FBI characterized the incident as an apparent assassination attempt on the former president.
Witkoff is an old friend of Trump. He is also a member of the World Liberty Financial founders group, according to an internal report on the project obtained by CoinDesk.
Like Trump, Witkoff is one of at least six members of the project’s “leadership team.” This means that he will also It is said Share 70% of the cryptocurrency bank’s shares, which will be issued to its founding members upon launch.
According to several industry experts, including cryptocurrency-specific venture capitalists, a 70% stake is unusually large for the founders of a cryptocurrency platform. A typical founder’s shareholding is close to 20%.
In addition to Trump and Witkoff, the founders include Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump, as well as Witkoff, according to people who were introduced to the organization’s founding team members. son Zach Witkov.
copies of internal reports, called white papers and Obtained by CoinDesklisted Barron as “Chief DeFi Visionary”, Eric and Donald Jr. as “Web3 Ambassadors”, and Trump Sr. as “Chief Crypto Advocate”.
Although the Trump family will receive compensation from the project, Bloomberg reports The platform itself is not “owned, managed, operated or sold” by members of the Trump family.
An anonymous Gmail account responding to CNBC claimed that the project has not yet developed a white paper, raising more questions about whether the project is ready to launch on Monday.
Real estate investors Witkoff and Eric Trump, executive vice president Members of the Trump Organization are two of the people calling the shots at WLF, a person familiar with the matter said. Both are new to the crypto industry.
CNBC reached out to Eric Trump and Witkoff about their leadership roles at the World Freedom Organization but did not immediately receive a response.
Witkoff has little interest in learning how the platform works, according to a person familiar with the project.
CNBC reached out to WWF, the Trump campaign and the Trump Organization for details related to the plan but did not immediately receive a response.
Much of what the public knows about World Liberty is based on media interviews Trump’s sons have given over the past month, as well as a leaked white paper that served as the crypto project’s manifesto, and conversations with people familiar with the project.
Anyone who wants to know important details about the platform, including its white paper, will be asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Some of the industry’s biggest names have recently courted Trump in 2024, offering cash and support to the Republican presidential nominee as he adopts increasingly optimistic talking points on the campaign trail, ultimately leading to the Republican election in the largest election. delivered a keynote speech at the conference.
However, some of those backers say they are concerned that this foray into cryptocurrencies could harm Trump’s broader relationship with the industry if the launch doesn’t go as planned.
A person familiar with the plan said Donald Trump Sr. has not been involved with the platform so far.
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