Trump escaped his second assasination this morning, this time at a golf course in West Palm Beach Florida. Trump escaped this assasination unscathed thanks to Secret Service agents who managed to spot the perpetrator in time and fired on the gunman who was hiding in the bushes. Despite his best efforts to flee the scene, the gunman was later apprehended by the authorities.
This second assasintation attempt coincidentally happened hours before the launch of Trump's DeFi platform, World Liberty Financial, which also made its debut today. But it seems that this setback wasn't going to stop Trump from launching his platform.
In a recent video he released on his X social media account, Trump said that his platform would create an alternative to slow and outdated traditional banks by embracing digital assets. He added that the platform will offer a range of services, including digital wallets, a credit system, and token-based investment opportunities.
World Liberty Financial Debut despite security scare
The recent security scare near his gold property in Florida has asked many question the timing and safety of the launch. Regardless, the Trump family, particularly sons Donald Jr, and Eric Trump, have been very vocal about their family's new venture.
According to a recently released white paper, the project will offer users a digital wallet for storing money, a credit account system, and opportunities to borrow and lend cash. Additionally, users can invest in cryptocurrencies through the platform's native tokens, and a nontransferable governance coin is also anticipated, tough details are still limited.
There are also hints that The World Liberty Financial platform is trying to popularize the use of stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. In a statement, World Liberty Financial described its mission as "making crypto and America great by driving the mass adoption of stablecoins and decentralized finance."
It explained that by distributing these stablecoins globally, it aims to maintain the dominance of the US dollar and reinforce America's financial leadership and influence worldwide.
World Liberty Financial also mentioned a partnership with DeFi protocol Aave, suggesting it might operate on the Ethereum blockchain. The team confirmed they are working with Aave, collaborating to create a platform that sets new standards and pushes all of DeFi forward.
Decentralized Finance innovation or just another family business
Meanwhile, Trump's family's involvement in the platform has also triggered a lot of political discussion, with questions arising about whether the project's focus is genuinely on decentralized finance innovation or more geared towards personal business interest.
Trump's three sons Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, and Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, who is just at the tender age of 18 years old, are named the project's "DeFi visionary". This means that they would be working together to spearhead the project's future ventures and direction in which it would be going.
Ethics experts have highlighted concerns over potential conflicts of interest, noting that while the venture may not violate existing legal provisions, it could still pose a risk to public trust and the credibility of the political process. Some have also pointed out that Trump's promotion of his sons' project might complicate his political ambitions should he seek office again.
Controversial even before its launch
Despite some enthusiasm within the crypto community, opinions on the timing and viability of the project are mixed. Critics have raised Trump campaigns for the presidency again, as the launch date falls just 50 days before the election.
Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and venture capital partner, described the endeavor as a "huge mistake", arguing that it risks damaging relationships within the crypto industry.
In an interview with Politico, Nic Carter said:
"It looks like Trump's inner circule is just cashing in on his recent embrace of crypto in a kind of naive way. Frankly, it looks like they're burning a lot of the goodwill that's been built with the industry so far."
Even before its launch, the project has already attracted negative attention, with hackers targeting Trump's family members' social media accounts and scammers circulating fake links. There also has been a series of false promotions and giveaways that have discredited by the official World Liberty Financial channels.
Additionally, on-chain analysts have noted connections between WLFI and Dough Finance, a previous DeFi protocol that was compromised in a hack earlier this year, adding another layer of controversy.