Trump: "The U.S will be the crypto capital of the world"

On Thursday morning, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced to his 90 million followers on X that he would unveil a comprehensive plan to position the United States as the global leader in cryptocurrency. But Trump left his fans clueless what plans he had to help the country achieve that goal. Throughout the day, anticipation built among Trump’s pro-crypto supporters, who eagerly awaited insights into his vision for the digital asset landscape. The town hall event, moderated by former Congressman and Bitcoin advocate Tulsi Gabbard, seemed a prime opportunity for Trump to discuss his crypto initiatives. Yet, Trump did not mention cryptocurrency during the event.

Trump's grand announcement on X

Earlier in the day, Trump had promoted the Trump Organization's rebranded crypto platform, now called “World Liberty Financial,” formerly known as “The DeFiant Ones.” In a post on X, he shared a video, accompanied by a voiceover stating, “This afternoon, I’m laying out my plan to ensure that the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet. They want to choke you. They want to choke you out of business. We’re not going to let that happen.” This post left fans with even more questions. For example, who is this "they" Trump is referring to? The Trump team also did not give any response to any of these queries.

Trump’s also tagged his World Liberty Financial X account. People have linked the platform with Donald Trump's two sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump.

World Liberty Financial's accompanying Telegram channel has seen rapid growth, boasting over 57,000 subscribers as of Thursday evening. This development follows the recent launch of a new series of Trump’s NFT trading cards, a private family enterprise distinct from the presidential campaign but aligned with Trump’s broader political brand.

These ventures, both the crypto platform and the NFTs, provide Trump with opportunities to engage crypto supporters and donors while also presenting a financial gain. As Trump positions himself as a pro-crypto candidate, his campaign has reported raising $25 million from the crypto community, though CNBC has not independently verified this figure.

Questions Remain About World Liberty Financial

Despite the buzz, specific details about the World Liberty Financial platform remain scarce, and there are still a lot of lingering questions about what this platform really does. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the explaination given by the Trump family, with Trump’s sons have provided diverging explanations of what the platform might offer. Donald Trump Jr. has hinted at developing a crypto platform to challenge traditional banking, citing the appeal of decentralized finance for those who feel marginalized by conventional financial institutions. Eric Trump suggested the project might involve digital real estate, which could imply the tokenization of real-world assets or ventures into metaverse-based digital assets.

Last week, Trump addressed his 7.5 million followers on his own social media platform Truth Social, framing the project as a means for the average American to push back against big banks and financial elites. “For too long, the average American has been squeezed by the big banks and financial elites,” Trump wrote. “It’s time to take a stand—together.” It seems like Donald Trump's explanation of the platform is more aligned with the accounts of Donald Trump JR.

As Trump continues to hint at his crypto vision, his supporters and the broader financial community are left awaiting further details on how he plans to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.