Trump talks up World Liberty Financial crypto exchange, but many questions remain

Former President Donald Trump on Monday announced his latest business venture, a cryptocurrency platform called World Liberty Financial that will be controlled by sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

Trump’s announcement, streamed on X from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, marked his first appearance since an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf course on Sunday. 

With Trump disclosing few specifics about World Liberty Financial, details about the platform, which is not yet live, remain scarce. Typically, crypto exchanges are platforms where investors can buy and sell digital currencies, similar to how a traditional stock exchange operates. Crypto exchanges often charge fees to withdraw bitcoin and other digital currencies.

During the hours-long announcement, Trump didn’t disclose how World Liberty Financial would work, pivoting from questions about cryptocurrency to talking about artificial intelligence or other topics. Other speakers during the event, including his eldest son, Don Jr., discussed embracing cryptocurrency as an alternative to what they contend is a banking system tilted against conservatives.

About two hours into the livestream, executives behind the venture, who include entrepreneurs Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, revealed who can buy World Liberty tokens, called WLFI, and how shares of the project will be allotted. 

A fifth of WLFI tokens will be reserved for the project’s founding team, including the Trumps, while 17% are set aside for user rewards, Folkman said. The remaining 63% of tokens will be sold to the public. He also urged potential investors to follow World Liberty Financial on X for more details, which he said would be coming soon. 

Trump, who was interviewed during the event by Farokh Sarmad, a Montreal-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur and self-described “crypto bro,” reiterated that he wants America to become the crypto capital of the world. The former president also warned that if the U.S. doesn’t lean into the digital currency, China will fill the void.

“We have to be No. 1. I think AI is really important, but I think crypto is one of those things we have to do,” Trump said. 

Trump added that his kids, including 18-year-old son Barron, a freshman at New York University, are knowledgeable about crypto. 

“Barron knows so much about this. He talks about his wallet. He’s got four wallets, or something. He knows this stuff inside out,” Trump said. 

Trump, who once called cryptocurrency “a scam,” has since reversed course. While millions of Americans have invested in or traded cryptocurrencies, young men tend to be most attracted to the digital assets, data from Pew Research Center shows. Forty-three percent of American men ages 18 to 20 say they have invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency, compared to 16% of the general population.

—With reporting by the Associated Press.