The Trump campaign press office did not respond to questions about Barron’s alleged involvement in the DJT token. In an article on
World Liberty Financial will face strong competition in a DeFi market already teeming with similar services, including Aave, Compound, Venus Protocol and others. “DeFi is pretty mature, especially on the over-collateralization side,” says Zach Hamilton, founder of crypto startup Sarcophagus and venture partner at venture capital firm Venture51.
But the Trumps don’t necessarily need to do anything new, if they can capitalize on their gigantic public platform to peddle this new venture. “[World Liberty Financial] is launching with the most free marketing a crypto company can ever get,” says Hamilton. “Trump is the king of rent-free living in people’s minds.”
Historical players in the DeFi industry are cautiously optimistic about the prospect of the arrival of the Trump family; both happy about the publicity and wary of the reputational damage World Liberty Financial could cause if it were to collapse or a technical problem were to cause financial losses.
“I welcome any effort to bring DeFi into the mainstream,” says Brad Harrison, CEO of Venus Protocol. “But like a Tesla’s autopilot, DeFi may make something look simple, but its inner workings are complex. Without a solid understanding of its nuances in the hands of seasoned financial technologists and engineers, a new platform risks being more of a branding exercise than a substantive and secure contribution to the space.
Regardless of the risk of trusting an untested crypto platform, industry enthusiasts are likely to patronize World Liberty Financial, if only to signal their support for Trump’s political efforts . “We are definitely dealing with crypto as a right-wing Republican product,” says Jacob Silverman, co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. “The industry is so aligned with the Republican Party, and they are the biggest donors of any industry this cycle.”
In the minds of various British politicians who have retired to crypto positions, World Liberty Financial could represent an attempt by Trump to hedge against a loss in the next election – by setting up a backup post for himself.
“Maybe the loud reception at the crypto conference in Nashville made him feel like this is the world he wants to be in, because they like him and he can make money. money,” Silverman said. “For all his faults, he understands the crowd.”
