Eric Trump explains how Wall Street pushed his family toward crypto

Eric Trump didn’t wake up one day and decide crypto was cool. He said his family was forced into it after banks shut them out without warning.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Eric repeated that several financial institutions dumped the Trump Organization in early 2021, right after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They shut down hundreds of accounts.

Eric called the collective decision political and said it exposed how weak and “weaponized” the banking system had become. “At that time, I realized how fragile the financial system was and how easily it could be weaponized against you,” he said.

With no time to spare, the Trump family started moving millions of dollars across smaller banks. Eric said they eventually found a new bank to work with, but he didn’t name it.

The idea of “debanking” has since become a rallying cry for conservatives and crypto circles. Republicans claim banks now discriminate based on political beliefs. Eric, who now leads much of the Trump Organization’s activity, said it was that exact experience that opened the door for their entry into crypto.

Eric leads Trump family crypto deals across bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokens

Eric didn’t hesitate. He took the lead. He helped move the Trump empire into crypto markets fast; Bitcoin mining, token investments, and new blockchain ventures. Their most valuable stake is in World Liberty Financial, which was recently valued at $4.5 billion.

The firm introduced WLFI, a token, and also created a dollar-linked stablecoin. Eric insisted this had nothing to do with government work. “I literally have nothing to do with Washington, D.C.,” he said, pushing back against claims of conflict of interest.

But critics say the lines are blurred. Democrats and outside watchdogs accuse the family of exploiting the presidency to benefit financially. President Trump recently signed an executive order directing regulators to examine if banks denied services based on political or religious views.

The order also calls for punishment if discrimination is found. At the same time, the Trump Organization filed a lawsuit against Capital One, one of the banks that ended its relationship with them. The bank denied any political motives.

Executives in the sector say they’re often pushed to drop clients that could hurt their reputation. Eric’s closest friends were deep into crypto already. He said it offered protection that real estate couldn’t.

Eric’s crypto dealings don’t stop there. ALT5 Sigma, a public crypto firm, bought $1.5 billion in WLFI tokens and added Eric to its board of directors. He also co-founded a mining startup called American Bitcoin, formed through a deal with Hut 8, a crypto mining company. Eric owns 9.3% of that company.

Eric defends $TRUMP meme coin, pushes future tokenization of Trump Tower

Ethics lawyers say this all reeks of self-dealing. Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics chief under Obama, said, “What Donald Trump is doing with crypto is the essence of corruption.” He pointed to Donald’s influence over the agencies that set crypto rules, while his family profits from crypto holdings.

The White House dismissed those claims. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the allegations irresponsible and insisted, “Neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”

Eric’s biggest public splash came with $TRUMP, a memecoin that launched three days before Donald returned to the White House. At one point, the token had a $15 billion market cap. It now sits closer to $1.7 billion.

Nobody outside the Trump circle knows how the profits are divided. Eric said memecoins like $TRUMP serve as entry points.

“If somebody wants to go in and they want to buy $TRUMP, congratulations, now you have access to Bitcoin, you have access to Ethereum, you have access to USD1, you have access to the United States dollar,” he said. “You just took the first step in actually creating some financial freedom that I think so many people around the world want.”

Eric also teased tokenizing the Trump Tower. He asked why it shouldn’t be possible to sell pieces of it to global investors via blockchain. “They love New York. They love Fifth Avenue. They love Trump,” he said.

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