Donald Trump’s Entry into Crypto Sparks Skepticism Due to Lack of Details
Donald Trump may be the crypto community’s favored candidate for president, but that didn’t translate into excitement when his family officially announced their entry into the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market. Fox Business has learned that many digital asset enthusiasts remained unimpressed after the official unveiling of the Trump family's new crypto venture.
On Monday evening, after weeks of hints and teasers, Trump took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to announce key details of the project during a live Spaces event. Joining him were his sons Don Jr., Eric, and his youngest son Barron Trump. The new venture, dubbed World Liberty Financial, was described as a decentralized lending platform aimed at democratizing and depoliticizing finance, giving ordinary people easier access to loans—particularly those who are underserved by traditional banks.
Donald Trump Jr. proclaimed, “What we’re doing here is truly a game-changer. This is the beginning of what I believe will be a financial revolution.”
However, the announcement fell short for many in the crypto world. As details of the platform remained vague, seasoned participants expressed doubts about the venture's viability. Many were left questioning how the project would work and whether its business model could succeed.
"We’ve been listening to this Trump crypto call for over two hours, and they still haven’t clarified what the platform does," commented Wayne Vaughan, CEO of blockchain firm Tierion, in a post on X. Vaughan noted that the listener count on the Spaces forum dropped significantly, from 150,000 to 47,000, as the call progressed.
This decline happened around 8:45 PM EST, after Trump passed the conversation over to his sons and other venture members. Despite the live drop-off, the forum attracted a notable audience, with a total of 1.3 million people tuning in at various points throughout the discussion. The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment following the event.
One thing the call did make clear: Barron Trump, an 18-year-old crypto enthusiast and college freshman, would not be launching a meme coin with controversial figure Martin Shkreli, as some had speculated. Shkreli, often called "Pharma Bro," is infamous for his securities fraud conviction and recently completed a prison sentence. Although he claimed on social media that he was collaborating with Barron Trump on a token project, he was notably absent from Monday’s event. Sources close to the Trump family stated that Barron was advised against working with Shkreli and instead directed to join the family’s larger crypto venture. Notably, Barron did not speak during the live call.
The event also featured billionaire real estate mogul Steve Witkoff and his son Alex, both long-time Trump supporters. Alex Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, shared how he met two crypto traders, Chase Herro and Zak Folkman, who became part of the founding team. Herro and Folkman were previously involved in another decentralized finance (DeFi) venture called Dough Finance, which collapsed in 2021 following a cyberattack that drained $1.8 million from the company.
One common critique about the World Liberty Financial unveiling was the lack of clarity regarding its mechanics. Listeners expressed frustration with the sparse details, particularly on how the platform would function, who its target audience would be, and how it would make money. Many found the pitch unconvincing.
Trump spent the first 40 minutes of the event in a Q&A session, focusing on how the crypto industry has struggled under regulatory pressure from the Biden administration. He credited his NFT collection’s success—which reportedly earned him around $7 million in profits—as a turning point in his views on digital assets. Trump also mentioned that his children had been instrumental in "opening his eyes" to the potential of cryptocurrencies and DeFi. He singled out Barron as being particularly knowledgeable about the space, saying, “Barron knows this stuff inside and out.”
World Liberty Financial is also planning to introduce a governance token for accredited investors. This non-transferable token would give buyers a stake in the platform, allowing them to vote on future developments in a decentralized manner. However, this announcement met with criticism, as only accredited investors—those meeting specific wealth thresholds—could participate.
“It’s not for retail investors, which completely contradicts the message they’re trying to push,” said Wendy O., a prominent crypto YouTuber with nearly 400,000 followers on X. “Retail investors aren’t stupid or poor.”
World Liberty’s messaging carries a populist tone, aligning with Trump’s nationalist economic agenda. The platform is being promoted as an alternative for individuals who have been excluded from traditional banking due to factors like poor credit. However, critics argue that catering to borrowers with bad credit in the largely unregulated DeFi space could lead to significant challenges.
Despite the underwhelming launch, Trump is unlikely to lose favor with the crypto industry. He has consistently pledged to roll back the regulations imposed by the Biden administration, a stance that resonates with many in the digital finance community. His promises to reduce regulatory hurdles have won him support, even amid a rocky project rollout.
After the event, several listeners who spoke to Fox Business expressed optimism, stating that Trump’s acknowledgment of cryptocurrency as part of the future of finance was a positive sign.
Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has also made attempts to appeal to crypto enthusiasts. Despite efforts to engage the estimated 50 million Americans involved in cryptocurrency, her meetings with industry leaders have reportedly stalled. Skepticism about her approach, combined with a lack of public commentary on the issue, has made it unclear how she would handle crypto policy if elected president.
The unveiling of World Liberty Financial may have raised more questions than it answered, but Trump’s involvement in the crypto space—and his promise to reduce government interference—remains a significant draw for many voters heading into the 2024 election.