Former President Donald Trump has once again made headlines, this time with a bold foray into the world of cryptocurrency.
What Happened: Trump on Thursday announced the upcoming launch of a new crypto platform named “The DeFiant Ones” to his 7.5 million followers on Truth Social, marking a significant shift in his stance on digital currencies, CNBC reported.
“For too long, the average American has been squeezed by the big banks and financial elites,” Trump declared in his post. “It’s time we take a stand — together.”
This announcement is particularly noteworthy as it is the first time Trump has used his personal platform to promote this yet-to-be-activated digital banking initiative.
Shortly after the post, his son, Donald Trump Jr., echoed the sentiment by sharing the news with his 12 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The post also included a link to a Telegram channel named “The DeFiant Ones,” which had garnered around 29,000 followers as of Thursday morning, with numbers rapidly increasing.
An earlier post on Aug. 15 described the channel as the “only official Telegram channel for the Trump DeFi project,” positioning it as a leader in “building the future of finance.”
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have been hinting at this project for weeks. Eric Trump recently described the forthcoming platform as “digital real estate” in an interview with The New York Post.
“It’s equitable. It’s collateral anyone can get access to and do so instantly,” Eric explained. “I don’t know if people realize what a shake up that is for the world of banking and finance. I hope we can help change that.”
The Trump brothers have also emphasized the transformative potential of decentralized finance (DeFi), urging their followers to “stay tuned for a big announcement.”
The term “digital real estate” may suggest the project’s involvement in selling tokenized versions of real-world assets or virtual properties within the metaverse, a concept that gained significant attention during the last crypto bull market.
Why It Matters: The timing of this announcement is crucial, coming as Trump intensifies his campaign efforts against Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election.
The former president’s pivot to crypto aligns with his efforts to rejuvenate his campaign and appeal to a broader base, particularly within the tech-savvy, pro-crypto community.
In an Aug. 8 interview on Locals, Donald Trump Jr. clarified that their venture is not about launching a meme coin but rather about creating a platform that could challenge the traditional banking system.
“What we want to do is take on a lot of the banking world,” he said, emphasizing the need for financial equality. “I think there has been a lot of inequality in that only certain people can get financing […] so this notion of decentralized finance is obviously very appealing to guys like me who have been debanked.”
Trump Sr.’s recent moves in the crypto space signal a significant departure from his previous skepticism about digital currencies.
Earlier this year, he launched a non-fungible token (NFT) collection on the Solana blockchain and became the first major presidential nominee to accept cryptocurrency donations.
His involvement in the crypto community has since grown, with the former president headlining major Bitcoin events and revealing in a financial disclosure form that he owns over $1 million in cryptocurrency.
These developments underscore Trump’s evolving image as a pro-crypto candidate, a sharp contrast to his previous stance during his presidency when he famously referred to Bitcoin BTC/USD as a “scam.”
As Trump positions himself as a champion of decentralized finance, the endorsements and donations from the crypto sector have surged.
By the end of July, he reported raising $25 million from crypto-related sources, highlighting the growing influence of digital currencies in the political landscape.
This intersection of politics and cryptocurrency will be a key focus at the upcoming Benzinga Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
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