WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump is endorsing a new crypto venture, fortifying his support for digital currency, which has evolved into a key campaign stance.
The decentralized finance platform, World Liberty Financial, is founded by longtime crypto entrepreneurs Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, and backed by the Trump family. It’s now accepting user registration for eligible candidates.
Trump is among a growing number of politicians who are throwing their support behind digital currencies ahead of the November election. Regardless of who takes the White House, lawmakers will be forced to reconsider how crypto is regulated amid growing industry criticism.
World Liberty Financial will launch a governance token, WLFI, members of the team said in an X Spaces live audio stream on Sept. 16.
Trump has marketed the platform to everyday Americans, but the whitelist is only open to accredited investors.
Ogle — an advisor for the platform and crypto security expert— said the platform’s exclusivity is a product of Securities and Exchange Commission regulation, which has come under scrutiny in the build up to the 2024 election. To qualify as an accredited investor, an individual must have a net worth of at least $1 million, under the Regulation D exemption for the SEC.
“Basically it’s saying you’re too stupid because you’re poor, and so you can’t make your own decisions,” he said. “That’s unjust, and it’s not American.”
Ogle said he joined as an advisor because he expected an influx of new users, given Trump’s following. He added that bringing on new users posed security risks, but had the potential to expand the industry’s reach.
“If people do onboard here, and nothing does go wrong, then a lot of people are going to get exposure and learn about a system where they otherwise would not have had access just because of ignorance, which I’m excited about,” Ogle said.
World Liberty Financial said on X that the team is not “turning (their) backs on the everyday American.” Ogle added that, while the whitelist is limited to accredited investors, once the DeFi project’s tokens are released to the public, WLFI will no longer oversee them, allowing other users to participate freely.
But Trump’s efforts to brand himself as a pro-crypto candidate contradict his prior stances. On July 11, 2019, Trump criticized cryptocurrencies on X for being “based on thin air” and highlighted their role in illegal activity. Two years later, he told Fox Business that Bitcoin seemed like a “scam.”
More recently, Trump has been an outspoken crypto supporter. At a July 27 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tenn., Trump threw his support behind Bitcoin, pledging to make the United States the “crypto capital of the world” if re-elected in November. He also said that he would fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who drew criticism from the crypto space for his aggressive regulatory stance.
Though Trump’s shift in crypto sentiment may seem sudden, DeFi platforms actually align with his “anti-regulation, pro-business” rhetoric, according to Michael Dambra, a professor at the University at Buffalo.
DeFi platforms are blockchain-based tools that allow users to directly trade, borrow, lend and invest assets without government intervention or use of a traditional middleman.
“A future president, deregulating, and allowing more access to crypto is something that I think would be very, very pleasing to someone who mistrusts the government,” Dambra said. “Because Bitcoin, Ethereum, is sort of independent of government control.”
But support for crypto is not limited to just one side of the ballot.
Vice President Kamala Harris notably stepped away from President Joe Biden’s stance against cryptocurrencies. Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has refrained from taking any strong position, mirroring the conflicting stances of her party, but on September 24, Mark Cuban said on X that the Harris team told him they opposed “regulation through litigation.”
Since 2021, spending on federal crypto lobbying nearly tripled, according to the campaign finance non-profit, Open Secrets. Lobbyists spent a record high $24.8 million in 2023, contributing to campaigns across the political spectrum.
In response to this surge, lawmakers from both parties have adopted pro-crypto stances and introduced legislation to deregulate digital currencies. Both House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have suggested that bipartisan crypto legislation could pass their chambers by early 2025.
With the amount of “money involved,” Ogle said that cryptocurrency may not be a divisive issue among voters in the upcoming November election. He said that the division will exist more amongst “fuddy duddy” politicians who are “behind the times.”
“The people who are complaining are kind of yelling about the rain coming,” he said.
Neither World Liberty Financial nor the Trump campaign responded to a request for comments.
