February 18, Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago.
This place, referred to by Trump as the "Winter White House," welcomed top Wall Street and crypto elites—Goldman Sachs CEO, Nasdaq Chairman, Coinbase founder, FIFA President, and a rapper named Nicki Minaj.
According to public records, this was the "World Liberty Forum" (World Liberty Forum) hosted by the Trump family's DeFi project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI). Approximately 400 top figures from global finance, technology, regulation, and entertainment gathered here for a full day of closed-door discussions.
Meanwhile, it was during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. While investors in the Chinese-speaking market were still anxious about the notion that "the crypto circle is dead," Americans across the ocean were already sitting together, discussing how to firmly grasp the next round of financial transformation in their own hands.
What Are They "Plotting"?
World Liberty Financial is a DeFi protocol deeply involved with the Trump family, officially launched in September 2024. The core figures of the project are Trump's two sons—Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—while the 18-year-old Barron Trump was appointed as the "Chief DeFi Vision Planner."
The goal of this project is straightforward: to establish a decentralized lending platform and issue the USD1 stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, challenging the traditional banking system. As of now, the circulation of USD1 has exceeded $5 billion, making it the fifth-largest stablecoin globally.
However, the Trump brothers revealed a more genuine reason in an interview with CNBC: they entered the crypto space not because they were at the forefront of technology but because they were "forced to."
"In 2020 and 2021, we were the most 'banned' people in the world," Eric Trump recalled, explaining that due to political reasons, the family's bank accounts were forcibly closed, making it impossible to pay suppliers and employees. "So we said, there must be a better way."
Donald Trump Jr. was even more blunt: the traditional banking system is a "Ponzi scheme." "The banks created this monster; we entered this field out of necessity."
As Eric put it, being able to advance their agenda now is "almost a form of revenge."
Although the forum was invitation-only and limited to about 400 attendees, the guest list was nothing short of a "power roster."
Wall Street Executives:
- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon
- Nasdaq Chairman Adena Friedman
- NYSE President Lynn Martin
- Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson
- Third Point founder Daniel Loeb, etc.
Crypto Giants:
- Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong
- BitGo CEO Mike Belshe
- Securitize founder Carlos Domingo
Government and Regulatory Figures:
- U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig
- Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg
- Florida Senator Ashley Moody, Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno
Sports, Entertainment, and Investment Figures:
- FIFA President Gianni Infantino
- Prominent investor Kevin O'Leary
- Rapper Nicki Minaj
This cross-industry lineup indicates one thing: WLFI is no longer just a simple family startup project but has become a "super interface" connecting the White House, Wall Street, and the crypto industry.
What Was Discussed?
1. The "Institutionalization" of USD1
During the forum, global financial services provider Apex Group, which manages over $3.5 trillion in assets, announced a pilot partnership with WLFI to use the USD1 stablecoin for fund subscriptions, redemptions, and dividends.
This means USD1 is transitioning from a "retail toy" to an "institutional tool." Apex's clients include hedge funds, pension funds, banks, and family offices. If the pilot is successful, USD1 will be directly integrated into the capillaries of traditional finance.
2. Real Estate RWA Officially Launched
WLFI announced a collaboration with Securitize to tokenize the loan proceeds of the "Trump International Hotel and Resort Maldives."
This ultra-luxury resort, developed by Saudi developer Dar Global, is expected to be completed by 2030. Investors can earn fixed returns and a share of the loan proceeds through digital tokens. This is a classic RWA (Real World Asset tokenization) approach—packaging real-world cash flows on-chain and offering them to global investors.
3. Bitcoin Mining Business Growth
Eric Trump disclosed on X that the Nasdaq-listed "American Bitcoin" (ABTC) now holds over 6,000 BTC, calling it the "fastest-growing among globally listed mining companies."
4. "World Swap" on the Horizon
Reports suggest that WLFI is preparing a foreign exchange/remittance platform called "World Swap," targeting the $7 trillion cross-border payment market. If true, this would be a significant application scenario for USD1.
Controversies
Amid the clinking of glasses at Mar-a-Lago, external scrutiny has never ceased.
Six legal and government ethics experts expressed concerns in interviews with Reuters. Critics argue that the presence of regulators (CFTC Chairman) and policymakers (senators) at the same event as the Trump family's business project raises serious conflict-of-interest issues.
Chris Swartz, a former lawyer at the U.S. Office of Government Ethics during the Trump administration, stated, "Any reasonable person would have serious questions about the propriety of this event." He believes the Trump family is leveraging the president's public office to benefit their private crypto business, which is concerning.
A larger controversy stems from external investment. According to The Wall Street Journal, just days before Trump's inauguration, an investment vehicle linked to the Abu Dhabi royal family acquired a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million.
This immediately drew a response from Democrats. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary, urging the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to investigate whether the transaction poses national security risks. They pointed out that this investment could grant foreign governments access to U.S. citizens' financial and personal data.
Additionally, despite its strong backing, WLFI's token performance has been lackluster. Only 20% of WLFI tokens are currently unlocked, with the remaining 80% still locked. This means early investors, despite paying real money, can only access one-fifth of their assets.
To make matters worse, the token price has fallen approximately 69% from its peak. For the locked 80%, investors cannot cut losses or hedge risks through other means.
The project team previously promised that the unlocking timeline for the remaining tokens would be determined by holder voting, but this vote has yet to materialize. In a recent governance vote, the vast majority of ordinary holders were unable to participate due to locked tokens, and the outcome was dominated by a few team wallets.
In response to the controversies, a White House spokesperson stated that the president's assets are held in a trust managed by his children and that "there is no conflict of interest." The White House legal counsel emphasized that "the president does not participate in business transactions involving constitutional responsibilities."
In summary, the secret talks at Mar-a-Lago are more than just a launch event. They represent an extension of "Trumpism" into the financial world—a new ecosystem woven from political prestige, family interests, and cutting-edge technology. Whether WLFI will become a leader in decentralized finance or devolve into a massive political controversy depends on USD1's adoption in mainstream markets and the final legal and policy verdict on its "special status."
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