TLDR:
- World Liberty Financial, a crypto project led by Donald Trump’s family, launches on September 16, 2024.
- The project aims to embrace cryptocurrencies and move away from traditional banking.
- It includes a credit account system built on Aave and the Ethereum blockchain.
- The platform plans to offer stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar.
- The project has faced mixed reactions and security challenges, including scam attempts.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project spearheaded by former President Donald Trump’s family, is scheduled to launch on September 16, 2024.
The announcement came through a video posted by Donald Trump on his X (formerly Twitter) account, where he stated, “We’re embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind.”
.@WorldLibertyFi pic.twitter.com/rHEGQXl4jL
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 12, 2024
The project is led by Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., with 18-year-old Barron Trump described as the “DeFi visionary.” World Liberty Financial aims to provide a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform for borrowing and lending, built on the Ethereum blockchain.
According to a draft whitepaper, the project will feature a “credit account system” utilizing the DeFi platform Aave. This system is designed to facilitate decentralized borrowing and lending.
Users will be able to store money in digital wallets, borrow or lend cash to others, and use tokens to invest in assets like cryptocurrencies.
One of the key components of World Liberty Financial is its focus on stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar. The project has expressed intentions to “spread U.S.-pegged stablecoins around the world” with the goal of maintaining “the U.S. dollar’s dominance” in the global financial system.
The platform is also said to include a nontransferable governance token, although specific details about its function have not been fully disclosed.
There have been hints of a potential partnership with the DeFi protocol Aave, suggesting that World Liberty Financial may leverage existing infrastructure within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The announcement of World Liberty Financial comes as Trump is campaigning for the 2024 presidential election.
He has previously expressed support for the cryptocurrency industry, promising clearer regulations and stating he would remove Gary Gensler, the current chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has taken enforcement actions against several large crypto firms.
However, the timing of the project’s launch, just 50 days before the election, has raised questions among some observers. Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at Castle Island Ventures, expressed concerns to Politico, calling the project a “huge mistake” and suggesting that it might be perceived as Trump’s inner circle “cashing in on his recent embrace of crypto in a kind of naive way.”
The project has already faced several challenges, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. Scammers have targeted the Trump family’s social media accounts, attempting to exploit the hype surrounding World Liberty Financial.
On September 4, the X accounts of Donald’s daughter-in-law Lara and his daughter Tiffany Trump were hacked, with imposters posting fraudulent links claiming to be associated with the project.
The official World Liberty Financial Telegram group has had to actively denounce fake advertisements and giveaways attempting to capitalize on the project’s popularity. In a separate incident, Eric Trump had to clarify that a memecoin called Restore the Republic (RTR) was not affiliated with World Liberty Financial after it experienced a significant price surge shortly after its debut.