Donald Trump Did Not Reveal Details About Family Cryptocurrency Venture at Inauguration Event X

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday launched his family’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, with an interview on the social media platform X in which he also made his first public comments about the alleged assassination attempt on him that occurred a day earlier.

Trump did not discuss specifics about World Liberty Financial or how it would work, moving from questions about cryptocurrencies to talking about artificial intelligence or other topics. Instead, he recounted his experience Sunday, saying he and a friend playing golf “heard shots in the air, I think probably four or five.”

“I would like to hit the last putt,” Trump said, giving credit to a Secret Service agent who spotted the gun barrel and began firing at it, as well as law enforcement officers and a civilian who he said helped locate the suspect.

World Liberty Financial is expected to be a lending and credit service used to trade cryptocurrencies, which are forms of digital money that can be traded online without relying on the global banking system. Exchanges often charge fees for withdrawing Bitcoin and other currencies.

Other speakers after Trump, including his eldest son, Don Jr., have spoken of embracing cryptocurrencies as an alternative to what they say is a banking system hostile to conservatives.

Experts say having a presidential candidate start a business during the campaign could create ethical conflicts.

“Taking a pro-cryptocurrency stance isn’t necessarily a concern; doing so while personally benefiting from it is a concern,” Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for the Washington-based government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, said earlier this month.

During his tenure in the White House, Trump said he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies, tweeting in 2019, “Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate lawless conduct, including drug trafficking and other illegal activities.” However, during this election cycle, he changed his mind and began to view cryptocurrencies positively.

In May, he announced that his campaign would begin accepting cryptocurrency donations as part of an effort to build what he calls a “crypto army” before Election Day. This year, he attended a bitcoin conference in Nashville, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin using the currency the government currently holds.

Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University who has conducted research on cryptocurrencies, said she was skeptical about Trump changing his stance on cryptocurrencies.

“I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that this change was partly motivated by financial interests,” she said.

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts welcomed the change, seeing it as a positive sign for investors if Trump reclaims the White House.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has not unveiled any policy proposals to regulate digital assets such as cryptocurrencies.

To attract cryptocurrency investors, a group of Democrats, including Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, participated in an online “Crypto 4 Harris” event in August.

Neither Harris nor members of her campaign staff attended the event.

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Gomez Licon contributed to the success of the team from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.