Editor’s Note: On February 26, Denver time, Donald Trump Jr., co-founder of World Liberty Finance (WLFI), attended the ETH Denver side event "DeFi World 2025" conference, where he discussed cryptocurrency regulatory policies, the future of DeFi, and the role of the United States with prominent guests from the crypto industry. The core points are as follows:
The Necessity of a Regulatory Framework: The cryptocurrency and DeFi sectors need a clear regulatory framework to define what can and cannot be done. He believes that the lack of clear regulations will force companies to go offshore, missing opportunities, and calls for the U.S. to establish reasonable regulations to ensure investor safety and industry development.
The U.S. Should Lead the Financial Future: The U.S. should play a leading role in the financial future rather than pushing companies overseas through excessive regulation. He advocates for the U.S. to dominate the global development of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology by establishing wise regulations.
Financial Democratization: Through projects like World Liberty Finance, combining traditional finance with decentralized finance to provide more people with liquidity, stability, and transparency, thus achieving financial democratization. He criticizes the opacity and exclusivity of the existing financial system, believing that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology can provide equal financial opportunities for more people.
Technology and Innovation: He is confident in the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to fundamentally change the financial industry. He particularly emphasizes the importance of transparency and on-chain operations, believing this can eliminate opacity and corruption in traditional finance.
Advice for Beginners: He advises newcomers to start with small investments and gradually learn about the cryptocurrency space, avoiding excessive leverage. He stresses the importance of education and participation, believing that only by truly engaging can one better understand this rapidly evolving field.
Expectations for the Future: He is optimistic about the future of World Liberty Finance and its partners, believing that by integrating various technologies and projects, revolutionary changes can be brought to the global financial system, providing more people with financial freedom and opportunities.
Odaily Planet Daily North America Correspondent jk_ participated in the event, and the dialogue transcript has been organized and edited as follows~_
Q: The U.S. is an important leader in the cryptocurrency space. What kind of policies do you think are needed?
Trump Jr.: I think the most important thing right now is that everyone needs a regulatory framework to clarify what can and cannot be done. When we entered this world, our family was also involved through projects like WLFI. It’s surprising that even if you have access to the best lawyers and experts in the world, no one really knows what you can do and what you can’t do. Very few are willing to face the overreach of agencies like the DOJ, SEC, or CFTC in the cryptocurrency space. Therefore, I believe this is the future of finance. We want to democratize it, but people really need this regulatory framework to move forward and understand what is permissible. If we don’t do this, the cost of opportunity lost due to companies being forced offshore is enormous. I think that’s very absurd. We need to create a regulatory framework that makes people feel safe, ensuring they can invest with peace of mind. I have not held office since noon on January 20, but during the transition, we spent a lot of time bringing in people who not only understand traditional finance (TradFi) but also truly understand cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) to formulate reasonable regulatory frameworks and laws.
I think the problem we’ve seen in Washington, D.C. over the past few decades is that those making decisions often know nothing about the subjects they are legislating on. They are just there longer, so they have the credentials, possibly sitting on some committee. After graduating from Wharton in 2000 and entering the real estate industry, I witnessed the financial crisis of 2007-2008. I saw members of financial committees asking seemingly sharp questions, but in reality, they knew nothing about the topics being discussed. If you really understand these topics, you would realize, my goodness, these people are making decisions worth trillions of dollars without any foundational understanding. Therefore, we need a regulatory framework guided by people who truly know the field, whether it’s the new SEC chair or Scott from the Treasury.
I helped bring ideas to the cryptocurrency space, like involving people such as David SAS. He truly understands this world. Initially, we were only discussing artificial intelligence, but during dinner, I realized he is one of the greatest minds in technology, so why not let him play a role in cryptocurrency as well? Thus, we formed a team that truly understands what we are doing, so you won’t just get a bunch of regulations and obstacles. This is a very critical opportunity where we can create what the industry truly needs. I believe we have enough people who understand the industry to do this, rather than making decisions without actual knowledge, leading to solutions that are worse than the problems themselves.
To be honest, I think the SEC and DOJ have set too many obstacles in the past few years under the Biden administration, which is almost destructive, even predatory, trying to stifle this incredible innovation of cryptocurrency. The same goes for DeFi and other related technologies. Now, I believe we have people capable of formulating frameworks who understand this field and can open the floodgates to those who genuinely want to develop in the U.S. They just want a reasonable environment in the U.S. without worrying about being thrown in prison for 25 years over some nonsense. Therefore, I am very excited about the actions the new government will take. I am proud to be part of the team that is helping to drive this process.
My father will ultimately make these decisions himself, but he understands how critical this is for the future of finance.** I believe this is the future of finance. The U.S. should be at the forefront**, rather than setting various obstacles that push these companies overseas. I am very excited about those in government; we can do this correctly, make it meaningful, and dominate this industry for the foreseeable future, even forever.
You launched your own cryptocurrency platform WLFI. Can you tell us what the vision and mission of this platform are? How will it revolutionize the DeFi and TradFi sectors?
Trump Jr.: I think the real vision is to integrate DeFi and traditional finance, merging them into one. Everyone wants liquidity, but not everyone has the opportunity to access it. I learned this through my political experiences over the past few years. A few months ago, I made some comments online stating that the current financial system feels like a massive Ponzi scheme. I said this because when I graduated from Wharton and entered the financial world, I was working in real estate and finance in New York. As a member of the Trump family, I may not have realized it, but I was at the top of this financial pyramid. It was essentially a Ponzi scheme, but I didn’t know it at the time because I could reach anyone I wanted through a phone call and get what I wanted. Because of who we are and our balance sheet, everything was easy. But when we entered the political arena, all that access suddenly disappeared.
I realized how undemocratic the financial system is. As long as you do what they say, everything is fine. But if you don’t, many Americans, and even people around the world, will be discriminated against. Therefore, I think our idea is to bridge this gap and provide liquidity for those who have never had the opportunity. I believe we can do many amazing things. Currently, there are no bond products or treasury assets in the cryptocurrency space, and combining these two worlds, as I mentioned earlier, we need the right team to do this, which will bring liquidity and, more importantly, stability.
The real goal is to democratize finance. I think cryptocurrency does a great job in this regard, but there are still many pitfalls. This field is still new, and I believe some people in the room have been in this field for 15 years, so it’s not new to them. But I really feel we are on the verge of a major breakthrough. Therefore, combining these two worlds is what we are working hard to achieve, providing great products that people can use. I feel that many people are artificially excluded from the traditional financial world; they don’t have access to these resources because they don’t meet certain criteria or are considered not “sexy” or “cool” enough. Therefore, I am very excited about the opportunity to truly democratize finance. As someone who was once at the top of this artificial Ponzi scheme, I quickly realized what it feels like to be at the bottom of this scheme. I realized that this is not what America is about, and this is not what financial freedom is about. Therefore, we are very excited to enter this field, grow with everyone, and help bring all these great products together.
Regarding "World Liberty Finance," it has recently formed partnerships with many partners, from Chile to Tron to Ondo Finance. I want to ask you, what kind of partnerships is "World Liberty Finance" looking for?
Trump Jr.: Similar to the first question, we want to combine traditional finance and the cryptocurrency world. We want to be an integrator, bringing all the great things together and not intending to do it all alone. We are looking for partnerships with various excellent projects. You mentioned a few, but there are many more. We need these projects and their wisdom. We must combine all these great technologies, great minds, and great ideas to bridge this gap again. I believe if we can do this, if we can integrate, we can create the stability that is necessary for this field to take off. We can simplify some complexities, making it easier for ordinary Americans and people around the world to access. Therefore, we are looking for collaborations with these top projects, so everyone is working towards the same goal, truly changing the entire industry.
I believe in the coming days, weeks, and months, you will see more impressive announcements. As I said, it’s amazing to see all the people who understand this reaching out to us, believing we can be the catalyst to bring these great ideas together. I think this is very fundamental and the most important part.
Blockchain and centralized finance have brought many solutions to traditional financial markets. What problems and challenges do you think it has solved in traditional finance?
Trump Jr.: I think we need to create practicality. Many of these ideas are great, but if you’ve been in this field for a long time, you can access the best people and minds. But for the average person, we must work hard to create practicality. I think there are many solutions, and everyone wants to gain this liquidity. People need to be able to enter and exit all these fields. Therefore, I think the biggest solution we can try to create is to create this practicality, bringing all the great partners together, and I believe this will achieve that. It takes time.
Now, it feels like this is all an "insider game," but ultimately, it's about creating practicality. You can create the democratization of finance and bring others into this space. As I mentioned earlier, this field used to be exclusive to the wealthy and powerful. If we can create this practicality, allowing everyone to truly use it, making basic transactions simple, and bringing liquidity into the market, that would be a real game-changer. You see others vying for this as well.
Earlier, I interviewed a leader of the Venezuelan opposition who won over 90% of the vote. She is a staunch supporter of cryptocurrency because even after winning 90% of the vote, they were able to silence her, shut down her business, and cut off her communication channels. I believe that once you create practicality, establish electronic signatures, and put them on the chain, you have transparency. We can do a lot to create a fair competitive environment for those who have not had opportunities. I think this is very exciting. I believe this is not only a game-changer for the industry but also for the world and freedom itself.
Some people outside may not be satisfied with this answer, but listen, we have seen what they can do in the U.S. If you don’t buy into their narrative, they will come after you. They did this when my father first took office, even though he was the most powerful man in the world, at least on paper, they could still cut off your connections. They can only push a narrative and exploit that bias. Even in the U.S., you might think this is impossible, but you see what they have done, the attacks on many people, and the imprisonment of early crypto figures like Ross Ulbricht, who paved the way for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. They don’t like these things, and it doesn’t matter.
We are moving towards a world independent of power, which is very frightening for many authoritarian regimes. I think some of these regimes may be closer to us than we realize.
The revolution in the DeFi space began in 2020, and since then, it has evolved from staking, re-staking, and various innovative DEXs to modular DEXs, among others. But this field is still very new, with significant growth opportunities. Many people are still trying to understand the basics. Therefore, I would like to ask you, based on your personal experience, what advice would you give to those just entering this field? How would you suggest they start and get feedback?
Trump Jr.: Yes, new things are emerging every day. I think what you need to do is start reading the news. I mean, don’t read fake news. You have to have a diverse perspective on this field. You can’t just read one account on X; they might be pushing something. I think you need to read everything about DeFi and start self-educating, which will make everything less daunting.
Start small, don’t invest too much money. Don’t overexpose yourself. For beginners, you could invest $100 in Bitcoin or $1,000. Once you truly engage, rather than just observing, even with a small amount, you will start paying attention to this field. Suddenly, you will find it’s not so mysterious anymore. If you explain this to a baby boomer, they might be very interested. There’s a lot of mystique in this field, but if you start trying and participating, even with a small amount, you will begin to understand it. I know that when I started putting in some real money, suddenly I began to pay attention to everything. Once you start paying attention, reading related content, you will begin to discern what is real and what is nonsense. You will realize that some people are pushing certain things just for their own benefit. In this way, you will become more alert.
I see my 16-year-old son starting to play with some meme coins. It’s amazing. You see a kid suddenly interested in finance; he puts in some money and starts talking about liquidity. Suddenly, he sounds like a banker who has worked at Goldman Sachs for 20 years. Because he invested money, he started paying attention and engaging. It’s truly remarkable. I think for people, this is the future of finance. So even if you have been in this field for a while, you are still in the early stages.
As this field develops, for a young entrepreneur, putting in some money and participating can teach you a lot. This is the best way to understand the basics of business and entrepreneurship. I come from a real estate family, and we have been in real estate for a long time. You can’t let a 15-year-old play with real estate because everything is too slow. We live in a world of instant gratification. If you play with meme coins, it’s not always instant gratification; sometimes it’s the opposite. When he starts paying attention and investing money, it’s no longer theoretical; he begins to truly understand it. For everyone, whether young or old, enter this field, invest some money, don’t over-leverage, don’t bet your house, but start participating. When you do this, I think the learning curve will skyrocket. It was like that for him, and it was for me too. Just transitioning from an observer to a participant is crucial. We are in a very early stage, and that’s fantastic.
For him, I started encouraging him to do this because I’m very excited to see that the stock market is good, but you buy some stocks and then sit there for 15 years; it may appreciate, but it’s not as quick or intense. I believe in 18 months, he has learned more this way than he did at Wharton. It’s truly amazing. So I say, enter this field, don’t do anything crazy, but start playing with something you’re willing to lose because that can happen. But just being a participant rather than an observer will sharpen your senses, and that’s crucial.
One last question. What motivates you? What are you most excited about for what’s coming this year?
Trump Jr.: To be honest, I think the most exciting thing for me is WLFI. It’s fascinating to see all this development. I have been a “hard asset real estate guy” my whole life, and I’ve also been involved in politics over the past few years because I truly believe in freedom, and I think freedom has really been in danger. Being able to do things differently, trying to put everything on the chain, is very exciting.
I think people should know, “Hey, the CEO of the company whose stock you hold tells you it’s great, but the CEO is quietly selling off.” I think that’s a problem. Therefore, I believe it’s very important to create a product that is as transparent and clear as possible. Put it on the chain, let people understand that if you’re buying and selling, we will talk about it. We will show you what we are doing, so it’s no longer about insiders and outsiders. We are moving away from the traditional financial model, where I know some bankers make seven figures a year, they have good jobs, but I don’t even know what they are doing. We have been talking about what we are doing with WLFI’s strategic reserves, and we will also launch many other great products. Being able to step out of a hard asset real estate world into this space, where we buy and hold long-term, I believe we see huge potential in this field.
I have spent a lot of time ensuring that my father’s government is not involved in what we are doing. They are independent, separate from the family business, but we can create this clarity that allows others to understand, hoping we can run it in a way that others see this transparency. They see what we are doing on the chain, which eliminates the mystique of these things. We can truly create a democratized financial platform that gives everyone a chance to win, everyone a chance to thrive, and everyone knows what others are doing.
Eliminating some of the opacity that may exist in the world. So I’m very excited about this. For those who haven’t been paying attention, check out WLFI’s account on X. Everyone is trying to do something, saying they are doing other things. Unless you hear it directly from me, my brother, or other excellent members of the team, please get your information from there. I am very excited about this project, with the great talent we have gathered, not only from the people in the team but also from other partners and excellent entrepreneurs. As you mentioned earlier, and others who are about to join, they seem to be reaching out to us every day.
I believe we really have the ability to bring together all the great minds, ideas, and technologies to fight for what we believe in. If we want the world to see this, I think when we achieve this, these things will take off. More people will get involved, no longer just observing, because they will be able to truly see what is happening out there.
I am very excited about this. Every day we are talking about this project; some people will make mistakes, but there are more things to come in the future. So I am very excited to be part of this industry and truly take on the responsibility of helping reshape the future of finance. It will be incredible.
(From a question by Rock) Any insider information about cryptocurrency sovereign funds? Does WLFI have a fund?
Trump Jr.: Regarding the fund, I know this is a transitional period. I must clarify that I am not in the government.
David S, who is in charge of the cryptocurrency space, understands this field. He understands that in the world we live in, you can see these things happening from day one. These ideas have the potential for billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars. So you can see this field, oh my gosh, it didn’t just happen at noon on January 20. But these things take time; they don’t magically appear. You need to do these things correctly. So I know there are people watching all of this.
I know there are people in the government who absolutely believe in this. But you have to understand, even if you want to do something immediately, you have to work within the framework of reality. So I think this is absolutely something you might see in the near future.** I am not in the government right now, but I know there are discussions about getting this done.** This is not something that can magically appear with a snap of your fingers. You are dealing with massive amounts of money that must go through the proper channels. Washington, D.C. does not operate in a reasonable way; it’s not transparent, and you can’t see what’s really happening. Those who are secretly against you.
If you have been paying attention for the past nine years, you may have noticed this. So all these ideas have been discussed. I have to keep myself grounded. You know, I won’t get the treatment that Hunter Biden gets. They are the ones who believe in this. They understand its value. They understand that America must be at the forefront, not in an environment that encourages pushing people away. So I think you will see these things, but if you are disappointed that it didn’t happen at the first moment, I’m sorry, but that’s not realistic either.
We have been following the guidelines of the world we are in. So I think you will see a lot of things. I think you will see a lot of exciting movements, not just in the DeFi space but also in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. I think a lot of these things will be utilized. They will create something incredible that allows people to use and create, filling in those truly missing practicalities again.
As you know, these things cannot happen overnight. You need to give it some time. But I think you will see some incredible things. I think ultimately, those who are confident in us talking about these things will be very satisfied. You just need to wait a little longer.
That’s amazing, I must say. I’m really glad you didn’t get the treatment that Hunter Biden did.
Trump Jr.: My father’s upbringing was a bit different. I was already doing these things at Hunter’s age. The Democrats will try again.
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