Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday dismissed criticism that a crypto venture tied to his family had any potential conflicts of interest, as his firm, World Liberty Financial, seeks global investors.
Concerns that World Liberty Financial investors may be seeking favor with the Trump administration are "complete nonsense," Trump Jr. told CNBC on the sidelines of Token2049, a prominent crypto conference in Singapore.
"I don't think anyone actually believes that my father or [Zach's] father would be looking at ledgers on the blockchain to see who bought what, and that carrying any kind of favor," he said.
The U.S. President's eldest son, who is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, was accompanied at the event by the firm's CEO Zach Wilkoff, son of Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East under the Trump administration.
Witkoff, who was involved in his father's real estate business before World Liberty Financial, echoed the sentiment. "Don and my World Liberty mission is big, but our dads' mission is much bigger. They're not focused on stablecoins, nor are they involved in a stablecoin business," he said.
The company — first founded in September 2024 — launched its stablecoin six months later. The token, dubbed USD1, is pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by short-term U.S. government treasuries. It also has a publicly traded "governance token," or the crypto version of a shareholder vote, called WLFI.
Critics have questioned the company's open connections to the Trump administration as it pursues deals abroad and expands into areas such as debit payments and tokenized commodity assets.
Trump Jr. and Wilkoff downplayed their political connections during a keynote speech at the crypto conference, emphasizing that their firm, which they say is seeking to improve and democratize finance, is "100% not a political organization."
According to World Liberty Financial's website, a Trump-affiliated firm called DT Marks DEFI LLC, along with members of the Trump family, receives a major share of the platform's revenue and holds WLFI tokens.
However, it also states that Donald Trump, his family or any members of the Trump Organization or DT Marks DEFI LLC are not an "officer, director, founder, or employee of, or manager, owner or operator of Word Liberty Financial or its affiliates."
The growth of the company comes against the backdrop of the President's embrace of the crypto industry in his second term.
Once a skeptic, Trump has rebranded himself as a "crypto president," backing policies welcomed by the industry and appointing long-time crypto advocates, such as David Sacks, to his cabinet.
Trump also launched his own meme coin, called $TRUMP, in addition to his involvement with World Liberty Financial.
Democratic lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Representative Maxine Waters, have led calls for investigations into World Liberty Financial, labeling the company an "unprecedented conflict" that could sway crypto policy.
