Eric Trump explained why the family turned to cryptocurrencies
Date: 2025-08-26 Author: Henry Casey Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
In an interview, Eric Trump said that the impetus for the family's interest in cryptocurrencies was the events of early 2021. After the January protests at the Capitol, a number of large financial institutions closed hundreds of accounts of the Trump Organization. According to him, this was a coordinated action dictated by politics and became an indicator of the "aggressiveness and vulnerability" of the banking system. In response, the organization filed a lawsuit against Capital One, which refused to provide service. The bank itself rejected accusations of political motivation.
The family tried to find a way out of the situation by transferring funds to regional banks. Only after a long search did they manage to agree with one of them, the name of which Eric Trump did not disclose. He noted that it was then that he realized how easy it is to use financial instruments to pressure people for political reasons. This experience prompted them to the idea of building their own projects in the field of cryptocurrencies.
Already in September 2024, ahead of the presidential elections, the decentralized credit platform World Liberty Financial was launched. Later, the company introduced the WLFI token and the USD1 stablecoin, pegged to the dollar. In January 2025, the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins appeared on the market. Eric Trump emphasized that these initiatives are not related to the activities of his father, the president, and the accusations of a conflict of interest are unfounded.
Major deals soon followed. The crypto company ALT5 Sigma acquired WLFI tokens worth $1.5 billion and invited Eric Trump to the board of directors. In addition, he became one of the founders of the mining startup American Bitcoin, created after the deal with Hut 8, receiving a share of 9.3%.
The story of the Trump family is not unique. Earlier, the head of Ripple Brad Garlinghouse reported that his account was blocked by the bank, where he remained a client for more than 25 years. Tornado Cash developer Roman Shtorm, whose cooperation with the Gusto service was terminated after the US Department of Justice accused him of facilitating money laundering through cryptocurrencies, experienced similar difficulties.
According to Eric Trump, these cases confirm that the traditional banking system is increasingly being used as a tool of pressure. That is why, he emphasized, cryptocurrency projects are becoming not just a business, but a way to protect against politically motivated restrictions.
