WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to deliver a speech next Monday about cryptocurrencies and the launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform run by the Republican candidate’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.
His speech will come 50 days before Election Day, an extraordinary use of the dwindling campaign window to promote a personal business. The former Republican president has long blended his political and business interests, marketing sneakers, photo books and Bibles bearing the Trump logo during his 2024 campaign.
“We are embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” Trump said in a video posted Thursday to X, the social media site that will also host his speech on the topic at 8 p.m. EDT on Monday from his home in Mar-a-Lago.
As part of his presidential campaign, Trump has pledged to transform the United States into the “crypto capital of the planet,” raising alarms that he could use the federal government to prop up a company tied to his family.
Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital money that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. Trading often relies on online marketplaces that charge fees for transactions so that cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for US dollars and other currencies.
Trump was anti-crypto during his presidency but has since warmed to the sector. He has proposed the government create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin and has vowed to block the creation of a Federal Reserve-managed Central Bank Digital Currency, a digital form of central bank money that would be available to the public.
