#Trumps are putting their names behind a new #crypto #project,
one promoted Monday night in a meandering two-hour livestream on the social media site X that was remarkably light on detail.

Why it matters:
Donald Trump seems to be leveraging attention from his White House run
to promote a new business venture
— one that by its nature could spark calls of constitutional conflicts.

Trump, who teased the announcement of World Liberty Financial to his over 90 million followers on X, spoke during a hosted Q&A to start the stream.
He spoke broadly about the blockchain industry, the success of his NFT collections and crypto's generational learning curve.

He didn't personally speak about the project he is launching before turning the stream over to his sons and partners.

The platform is reportedly being described as a decentralized finance ( #DeFi ) money market,
or a platform where people can borrow, lend and earn interest on crypto.

DeFi differs from traditional finance in that it doesn't include anyone in the middle to facilitate transactions.
Everything is done on a blockchain, governed by smart contracts created by the project.

Today, there is already roughly $44 billion in crypto posted to back DeFi loans globally.

How it works:
The only thing the project team spoke to specifically Monday night was the fact that the project will launch a new cryptocurrency — sort of.

It will create a so-called #governance #token,
called #WLFI,
which will not be transferable and will not earn yield.

It can only be used to vote on changes for the project.

63% of the supply will be sold to accredited public investors,
with no pre-sales or VC allocation, project partner Chase Herro said.

Another 17% will be set aside for rewards,
while the remaining 20% will be held by the project team for compensation.

💭 My thought bubble: It's unclear why anyone would buy a token if it's non-transferrable.

What's the point of it? That's the question everyone in crypto is likely to be asking.

Zoom in:
Herro and Zachary Folkman, who is also reportedly listed on World Liberty Financial's white paper,
were reportedly behind a similar sounding effort that only lasted a few months, #Dough #Finance.

Dough was brought down by a hackthat took basically all the funds deposited into it.

The big picture:
Trump is billing "World Liberty Financial" as a chance to "Make Finance Great Again."

Banking "has become politicized," Donald Trump, Jr. said Monday night after his father signed off.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) "takes that political component out of it."

But for the Trumps, according to Bloomberg, it's nothing more than an endorsement deal.

Either way, one burning question is whether a sitting president could even be associated with such a business.

DeFi, by its nature, is permissionless.
There's no identity checks at the doors for users.

As one DeFi advocate said at a congressional hearing recently, "That is the epitome of financial inclusion."

🆘 But that also means there's nothing to prevent foreign governments from using it heavily in hopes of currying favor with a Trump administration,
which raises questions about the Constitution's Emoluments Clause.

"The constitutional problem is the President cannot take an emolument (money or things of value) from a foreign government without permission from Congress,"
Stetson Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy tells Axios.

So if profits from the project came from constitutionally prohibited sources, she says, it raises the same issue. If they ever reach Trump.

However, she also noted that the courts punted on these issues in his first term.

The intrigue:

Trump's embrace of crypto has been extremely well receivedby the blockchain industry.

But this DeFi side hustle has not been.

Celebrities who become enamored with cryptocurrency and try to become entrepreneurs tend to end up losing money for their unsophisticated fans.

What we're watching:

The optics of a presidential candidate launching a new company could make cryptocurrency policy an election issue after all.

https://www.axios.com/2024/09/17/trump-crypto-platform-world-liberty-financial

#Barron Bails On His #Trump #Crypto Launch Speech Because Dad's #Blathering Took Too Long

In what may be the most perfectest Trump product launch ever, Barron (evidently eager to prove #KamalaHarris right about his Dad’s rallies) decided to bail on his presentation as the “visionary” behind the project because his Dad’s blathering took too long. Perfect. So so perfect.

#idiocracy #grift #weird #insane #Nonsense
#CommonSense #sanity #RealityBasedPolitics #HarrisWalz2024
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/9/17/2271082/-Barron-Bails-On-His-Trump-Crypto-Launch-Speech-Because-Dad-s-Blathering-Took-Too-Long

Barron Bails On His Trump Crypto Launch Speech Because Dad's Blathering Took Too Long

In what may be the most perfectest Trump product launch ever, Barron (evidently eager to prove Kamala Harris right about his Dad’s rallies) decided to bail on his presentation as the “visionary” behind the project because his Dad’s blathering took to…

^{Daily Kos}

As headlines about the Trump family’s “World Liberty Financial” crypto project appear in outlets like the New York Times, a scam website spoofing the project remains on the front page of Google search results. Blockchain data show people actively purchasing the token.

This is the same scam URL and token address promoted by the hackers who compromised Twitter accounts belonging to Lara and Tiffany Trump two weeks ago.

#crypto #cryptocurrency #USpol #USpolitics #DonaldTrump