Chuck Darwin<p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Trumps" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trumps</span></a> are putting their names behind a new <a href="https://c.im/tags/crypto" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>crypto</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/project" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>project</span></a>, <br>one promoted Monday night in a meandering two-hour livestream on the social media site X that was remarkably light on detail.</p><p>Why it matters: <br>Donald Trump seems to be leveraging attention from his White House run <br>to promote a new business venture <br>— one that by its nature could spark calls of constitutional conflicts.</p><p>Trump, who teased the announcement of World Liberty Financial to his over 90 million followers on X, spoke during a hosted Q&A to start the stream. <br>He spoke broadly about the blockchain industry, the success of his NFT collections and crypto's generational learning curve.</p><p>He didn't personally speak about the project he is launching before turning the stream over to his sons and partners.</p><p>The platform is reportedly being described as a decentralized finance ( <a href="https://c.im/tags/DeFi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DeFi</span></a> ) money market, <br>or a platform where people can borrow, lend and earn interest on crypto.</p><p>DeFi differs from traditional finance in that it doesn't include anyone in the middle to facilitate transactions. <br>Everything is done on a blockchain, governed by smart contracts created by the project.<br> <br>Today, there is already roughly $44 billion in crypto posted to back DeFi loans globally.</p><p>How it works: <br>The only thing the project team spoke to specifically Monday night was the fact that the project will launch a new cryptocurrency — sort of.</p><p>It will create a so-called <a href="https://c.im/tags/governance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>governance</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/token" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>token</span></a>, <br>called <a href="https://c.im/tags/WLFI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WLFI</span></a>, <br>which will not be transferable and will not earn yield. </p><p>It can only be used to vote on changes for the project.</p><p> <br>63% of the supply will be sold to accredited public investors, <br>with no pre-sales or VC allocation, project partner Chase Herro said. </p><p>Another 17% will be set aside for rewards, <br>while the remaining 20% will be held by the project team for compensation.</p><p>💭 My thought bubble: It's unclear why anyone would buy a token if it's non-transferrable. </p><p>What's the point of it? That's the question everyone in crypto is likely to be asking.</p><p>Zoom in: <br>Herro and Zachary Folkman, who is also reportedly listed on World Liberty Financial's white paper, <br>were reportedly behind a similar sounding effort that only lasted a few months, <a href="https://c.im/tags/Dough" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Dough</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Finance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Finance</span></a>.</p><p>Dough was brought down by a hackthat took basically all the funds deposited into it.</p><p>The big picture: <br>Trump is billing "World Liberty Financial" as a chance to "Make Finance Great Again."</p><p> <br>Banking "has become politicized," Donald Trump, Jr. said Monday night after his father signed off. </p><p>Decentralized finance (DeFi) "takes that political component out of it."</p><p> <br>But for the Trumps, according to Bloomberg, it's nothing more than an endorsement deal.</p><p>Either way, one burning question is whether a sitting president could even be associated with such a business.</p><p> <br>DeFi, by its nature, is permissionless. <br>There's no identity checks at the doors for users. </p><p>As one DeFi advocate said at a congressional hearing recently, "That is the epitome of financial inclusion."</p><p> <br>🆘 But that also means there's nothing to prevent foreign governments from using it heavily in hopes of currying favor with a Trump administration, <br>which raises questions about the Constitution's Emoluments Clause.</p><p>"The constitutional problem is the President cannot take an emolument (money or things of value) from a foreign government without permission from Congress," <br>Stetson Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy tells Axios.</p><p> <br>So if profits from the project came from constitutionally prohibited sources, she says, it raises the same issue. If they ever reach Trump.</p><p> <br>However, she also noted that the courts punted on these issues in his first term.</p><p>The intrigue: </p><p>Trump's embrace of crypto has been extremely well receivedby the blockchain industry. </p><p>But this DeFi side hustle has not been.</p><p> <br>Celebrities who become enamored with cryptocurrency and try to become entrepreneurs tend to end up losing money for their unsophisticated fans.</p><p>What we're watching: </p><p>The optics of a presidential candidate launching a new company could make cryptocurrency policy an election issue after all.</p><p><a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/09/17/trump-crypto-platform-world-liberty-financial" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">axios.com/2024/09/17/trump-cry</span><span class="invisible">pto-platform-world-liberty-financial</span></a></p>