Former President Donald Trump and his family are set to launch a controversial cryptocurrency project called World Liberty Financial on Sep. 16.
What Happened: The announcement, made on Trump’s social media platform, has raised eyebrows in political and financial circles.
“We’re embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” Trump declared in a video post, signaling a dramatic shift from his previous stance on digital currencies.
World Liberty Financial, purportedly a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, is being spearheaded by Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., with 18-year-old Barron Trump bizarrely listed as “chief DeFi visionary.”
However, investigations reveal that the true mastermind behind the project may be Chase Herro, a controversial figure in the crypto world with a checkered past.
Herro, who once dubbed himself “the dirtbag of the internet,” has a history of promoting questionable products, including weight-loss “colon cleanses” and get-rich-quick schemes.
His involvement in the Trump family’s crypto venture raises serious concerns about the project’s legitimacy and intentions.
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The project’s whitepaper, obtained by CoinDesk, outlines plans for a “credit account system” built on the Aave AAVE/USD platform and Ethereum ETH/USD blockchain, aiming to facilitate decentralized borrowing and lending.
It also mentions the development of dollar-pegged stablecoins to “ensure that the U.S. dollar’s dominance continues.”
However, crypto experts remain skeptical.
“This just feels like a fly-by-night, trying to make a quick buck, kind of thing,” said Tarun Chitra, general partner at Robot Ventures.
The announcement comes on the heels of a failed cryptocurrency venture by Barron Trump earlier this year, known as the DJT coin, which faced significant criticism and ultimately collapsed.
What’s Next: As the crypto world buzzes with this news, all eyes will be on the upcoming Benzinga Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
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